Disasters and social crisis in contemporary Japan : political, religious, and sociocultural responses

"Japan is still coming to terms with the 'triple disaster' of 2011 -- earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. Only two decades ago, the country was similarly shaken by the 'double disaster' of earthquake and sarin gas attack in 1995. What can we learn about Japan through the diverse responses to these two critical moments in postwar history when a 'normal' sense of stability and existing social order was severely undermined? This edited collection brings together a multidisciplinary team of scholars to engage this question and explore the wide-ranging and diverse responses by national and local governments, political leaders, citizen activists, concerned mothers, religious organizations, literary figures, and public intellectuals"--Provided by publisher. Read more... Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-20 Front Matter....Pages 21-21 New Right Transformation in Japan....Pages 23-41 Military Force as Social Good: The Legacies of Operation Tomodachi....Pages 42-58 Downsizing Fukushima and Japan’s Nuclear Relaunch....Pages 59-80 Japan’s Identity Crisis and Sino-Japanese Relations....Pages 81-103 Front Matter....Pages 105-105 Neonationalism, Politics, and Religion in Post-disaster Japan....Pages 107-131 Mobilizing Gratitude: Contextualizing Tenrikyō’s Response after the Great East Japan Earthquake....Pages 132-155 Buddhist Responses to the 3.11 Disasters in Japan....Pages 156-181 Front Matter....Pages 183-183 Kōbe 1995: Crisis, Volunteering, and Active Citizenship in Japan....Pages 185-208 Crisis and Opportunity: Social Media in Kōbe, Tōhoku, and Tokyo....Pages 209-237 Babysteps Toward Advocacy: Mothers against Radiation....Pages 238-266 Front Matter....Pages 267-267 Kobayashi Yoshinori, 3.11, and Datsu Genpatsu Ron....Pages 269-287 Beyond Kizuna: Murakami Haruki on Disaster and Social Crisis....Pages 288-308 Back Matter....Pages 309-318 "Cover" -- "Contents" -- "List of Figures and Tables" -- "Acknowledgments" -- "List of Contributors" -- "Introduction" -- "Part I: Political Responses" -- "1 New Right Transformation in Japan" -- "2 Military Force as Social Good: The Legacies of Operation Tomodachi" -- "3 Downsizing Fukushima and Japanâ#x80;#x99;s Nuclear Relaunch" -- "4 Japanâ#x80;#x99;s Identity Crisis and Sino-Japanese Relations" -- "Part II: Religious Responses" -- "5 Neonationalism, Politics, and Religion in Post-disaster Japan" -- "6 Mobilizing Gratitude: Contextualizing TenrikyÅ#x8D;â#x80;#x99;s Response after the Great East Japan Earthquake" -- "7 Buddhist Responses to the 3.11 Disasters in Japan" -- "Part III: Social Responses" -- "8 KÅ#x8D;be 1995: Crisis, Volunteering, and Active Citizenship in Japan" -- "9 Crisis and Opportunity: Social Media in KÅ#x8D;be, TÅ#x8D;hoku, and Tokyo" -- "10 Babysteps Toward Advocacy: Mothers against Radiation" -- "Part IV: Cultural Responses" -- "11 Kobayashi Yoshinori, 3.11, and Datsu Genpatsu Ron" -- "12 Beyond Kizuna: Murakami Haruki on Disaster and Social Crisis" "Japan is still coming to terms with the “triple disaster” of 2011 – earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. Only two decades ago, the country was similarly shaken by the “double disaster” of earthquake and sarin gas attack in 1995. What can we learn about Japan through the diverse responses to these two critical moments in postwar history when a “normal” sense of stability and existing social order was severely undermined? This edited collection brings together a multidisciplinary team of scholars to engage this question and explore the wide-ranging and diverse responses by national and local governments, political leaders, citizen activists concerned mothers, religious organizations, literary figures, and public intellectuals." -- Back cover Japan was shaken by the 'double disaster' of earthquake and sarin gas attack in 1995, and in 2011 it was hit once again by the 'triple disaster' of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. This international, multi-disciplinary group of scholars examines the state and societal responses to the disasters and social crisis.