Mental Health and Social Issues Following a Nuclear Accident : The Case of Fukushima

This book focuses on mental health issues arising in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Three years after the 11 March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunamis, and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, roughly 130,000 individuals continue to face enormous burdens as a result of mandatory evacuation. Many evacuees still live in temporary housing, and returning home remains a distant dream as they wait for the decontamination of the danger zone to be completed. However, the plant recovery process is still evolving, and the complete cleanup will take decades. Beyond all of these hardships, many evacuees are also mourning the loss of their loved ones. The compound disaster with its many uncertainties poses and will continue to pose serious emotional and social challenges. People affected by the nuclear disaster have been facing serious psychological challenges from ongoing fear of radiation exposure. Furthermore, there is continuing debate between various stakeholders on the options for disaster responses. This situation in turn produces adverse public responses, such as discrimination and stigmatization of the evacuees and scapegoating of the authorities and nuclear plant workers. __Mental Health and Social Issues Following a Nuclear Accident__ addresses these issues and their impacts, pursuing both evidence-based and narrative-based approaches. It also contrasts the Fukushima findings with those of other nuclear disasters, namely, Three Mile Island and Cher nobyl. "This book focuses on mental health issues arising in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Three years after the 11 March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunamis, and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, roughly 130,000 individuals continue to face enormous burdens as a result of mandatory evacuation. Many evacuees still live in temporary housing, and returning home remains a distant dream as they wait for the decontamination of the danger zone to be completed. However, the plant recovery process is still evolving, and the complete cleanup will take decades. Beyond all of these hardships, many evacuees are also mourning the loss of their loved ones. The compound disaster with its many uncertainties poses and will continue to pose serious emotional and social challenges. People affected by the nuclear disaster have been facing serious psychological challenges from ongoing fear of radiation exposure. Furthermore, there is continuing debate between various stakeholders on the options for disaster responses. This situation in turn produces adverse public responses, such as discrimination and stigmatization of the evacuees and scapegoating of the authorities and nuclear plant workers. Mental Health and Social Issues Following a Nuclear Accident addresses these issues and their impacts, pursuing both evidence-based and narrative-based approaches. It also contrasts the Fukushima findings with those of other nuclear disasters, namely, Three Mile Island and Cher nobyl." -- Font no determinada This book focuses on mental health issues arising in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Three years after the 11 March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunamis, and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, roughly 130,000 individuals continue to face enormous burdens as a result of mandatory evacuation. Many evacuees still live in temporary housing, and returning home remains a distant dream as they wait for the decontamination of the danger zone to be completed. However, the plant recovery process is still evolving, and the complete cleanup will take decades. Beyond all of these hardships, many evacuees are also mourning the loss of their loved ones. The compound disaster with its many uncertainties poses and will continue to pose serious emotional and social challenges. People affected by the nuclear disaster have been facing serious psychological challenges from ongoing fear of radiation exposure. Furthermore, there is continuing debate between various stakeholders on the options for disaster responses. This situation in turn produces adverse public responses, such as discrimination and stigmatization of the evacuees and scapegoating of the authorities and nuclear plant workers. Mental Health and Social Issues Following a Nuclear Accident℗laddresses these issues and their impacts, pursuing both evidence-based and narrative-based approaches. It also contrasts the Fukushima findings with those of other nuclear disasters, namely, Three Mile Island and Cher nobyl Front Matter....Pages i-xxi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Godzilla Mon Amour: The Origins and Legacy of Nuclear Fear in Japan....Pages 3-14 Unforeseeable Accidents from the Point of View of the Legal System....Pages 15-27 Report on Fukushima Counseling Support Professional Team: Interdisciplinary Team Approach for Psychosocial Care of Evacuees....Pages 29-43 Societal and Ethical Aspects of Radiation Risk Perception....Pages 45-54 Thinking Across Disaster....Pages 55-64 Front Matter....Pages 65-65 Emotional Consequences of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl: Lessons Learned for Fukushima....Pages 67-82 3/11 and 9/11: A Multifaceted Investigation of a Survivor Exchange Program....Pages 83-97 Psychosocial Responses to Disaster and Exposures: Distress Reactions, Health Risk Behavior, and Mental Disorders....Pages 99-117 Psychosocial Challenges of the Fukushima Nuclear Plant Workers....Pages 119-130