Reconstruction of communities following the great East Japan disaster

The earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011 not only caused extensive direct damage to people, but triggered a nuclear power plant accident bringing the terror and reality of radiation. Reconstruction of communities in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures presents enormous problems. While communities affected only by the earthquake and tsunami can be rebuilt physically and socially, it will be very difficult for people in the radiation-contaminated areas in Fukushima to reconstruct. Many residents fleeing the radioactivity have already dispersed far and wide throughout Japan. The social bonds among both groups of sufferers have changed. Though some people have already redeveloped ties in the quake-tsunami disaster areas, others, especially those whose houses were not destroyed by the tsunami, have hesitated to communicate with less fortunate friends and neighbors because of ‘survivors guilt.’ In Fukushima, the additional nuclear disaster inflicted quite another kind of damage on people. It was not only physical, but mental. Many farmers have had to transfer to other areas because their crops became unmarketable due to radioactivity, real or feared. The government forces many other people to evacuate to areas far from the nuclear plant and so far from home. While older people wish to return to their hometowns, younger people have determined to find new jobs in other areas.  This too strains ties. The purpose of the paper is to inventory and clarify the particular problems of conflict in communities such as the loss of confidence in neighbors caused by the disaster and to explore the possibilities of rebuilding communities, especially indicating how to cope with ‘social demise of communities’ where local people had formed and occupied all their lives.