Mobilizing Mothers: The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Catastrophe and Environmental Activism in Japan

The citizens’ and environmental movements of the 1960s and 70s hadgreat political success in Japan, culminating in the Special Session of the Diet in1970 that enacted 14 anti-pollution laws. These activist groups fought denials ofresponsibility on the part of industry and unresponsiveness on the part of localgovernments. Women were at the forefront of this type of activism during the 1960sand 70s, and led many of the citizens’ environmental movements during this time.More recently, during the environmental catastrophe caused by the meltdown of theFukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, women and mothers have been vocal protesters.Environmental movements have particular political salience because of the successwomen have achieved in this area both in policy change and also roles in formalpolitics. Women have consistently achieved these successes at the same time as theyperformed their roles as mothers and home managers; these roles have been usedstrategically to mobilize women with great effect, and also were central to the valueswith which the citizens’ movements defined themselves politically

Researching Agricultural Policy in Japan Using Qualitative Interviews

The research project upon which this case study is based examined agricultural policy in Japan using the qualitative method of interviewing. Interviews were conducted in the field in Japan, where the author has conducted previous research and has lived. This case discusses the qualitative interviewing methodology, including ethical considerations and on-the-ground practicalities of doing interviews in a foreign language. Understanding the local language and customs was an important aspect of this case study, when interviewing participants often used different words reflecting local dialects and it was necessary to build rapport to get in-depth responses. The project included extensive travel across Japan to meet with farmers, members of cooperatives, and leaders of consumer organizations to interview them. Advance planning was key in getting access to the people necessary to study the proposed research question, identify potential respondents, and contact them to set up interviews. This case study discusses the use of qualitative interviews to gather primary material for a research project that examined agricultural policies and their outcomes with non-profit organizations, citizens groups, and government officials

Harvesting State Support: Institutional Change and Local Agency in Japanese Agriculture

This book is part of an expanding literature on agriculture in Japan from the perspective of political science. This work is firmly rooted in comparative arguments, utilizing richly detailed qualitative interviews, archival sources, and comprehensive fieldwork. The author\u27s main argument is that Japan\u27s agricultural policy framework should be viewed as a “macro-institution” shaped foremost by its positionality at the interface between formal rules and larger social network ties (9). This argument speaks to the agent/structure debate that emerged in political science in the 1980s and 1990s between those focused on large institutions such as governments and those who acknowledged the agency of individual actors, social groups, movements, and social forces. The book uses neoinstitutionalist theory, an iteration of structural theories that emphasize stability and gradual change. Jentzsch argues that neoinstitutionalism has a weak spot noted by comparative political economists—namely, understanding institutional change especially when those changes are internal and gradual...

Rice and Agricultural Policy in Japan: The Loss of a Traditional Lifestyle

This book chronicles Japan’s rice farmers who live in mainly rural areas in the west and south of Japan through original interviews conducted in Japanese. It argues that current agricultural policy as well as the tightening relationship between the US and Japan is a death sentence for a traditional lifestyle that is vital to Japan’s notion of national identity. The project covers recent agricultural policies, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and its potential consequences on Japan’s food sovereignty and documents the effect of these policies on rice farmers. This volume is ideal for those interested in Japan’s agricultural policies and rural and traditional Japanese lifestyle

Re-Telling Fukushima, Re-Shaping Citizenshp: Women Netizens in Japan

The edited collection, Eco Culture: Disaster, Narrative, Discourse, opens a conversation about the mediated relationship between culture and ecology. The dynamic between these two great forces comes into stark relief when a disaster—in its myriad forms and narratives—reveals the fragility of our ecological and cultural landscapes. Disasters are the clashing of culture and ecology in violent and tragic ways, and the results of each clash create profound effects to both. So much so, in fact, that the terms ecology and culture are past separation. We are far removed from their prior historical binaric connection, and they coincide through a supplementary role to each other. Ecology and culture are unified