Book project

Post-disaster Citizenship: The Politics of Race, Belonging, and Activism after Fukushima 

Post-disaster Citizenship: The Politics of Race, Belonging, and Activism after Fukushima (tentative title) examines the ways that disasters shape political contestations over the meanings of governance, citizenship, and social inclusion. Exploring these boundaries, the book analyzes the rise of nativist, far-right groups in Japan, alongside the rise of antiracism/antifa movements in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, commonly referred to as “3/11.” From the political and cultural crises that followed 3/11 emerged nationwide movements against hate speech led predominantly by Japanese men. The book examines key tensions in this emergence, in that 3/11 served as moment of awakening for a group of activists who primarily embodied relatively privileged positions, such as ethnic Japanese, straight, able-bodied men living in urban centers. Post-disaster Citizenship grapples with the challenges that more marginalized groups—notably, women of all ethnic backgrounds, nonbinary, queer, disabled, ethnic minorities, and people living in rural areas—have long endured and the heightened risks and vulnerabilities they face when articulating new political formations.

The book draws upon more than three years of ethnographic fieldwork in Japan, 60 in-depth interviews with activists and human rights workers, and content analysis of social media and organization documents. The book considers how far-right activism, which targets ethnic minorities, predominantly Koreans and Chinese, as well as victims of radiation disasters, has emerged along similar timelines as the global trend towards populist, ultranationalism. The antiracist activists involved with this study wrestle simultaneously with the historical tensions around disasters and social movements while engaging with these global issues. They borrow liberally from transnational activist strategies, while struggling with their relationships with each other and the inequalities present within their own movements. By examining these cases, I show the complexities of activists’ attempts to construct a shared vision of political recuperation amidst longstanding asymmetries of vulnerability and injury.