Japan’s Nuclear Imaginaries Before
and After Fukushima: Visions of Science,
Technology, and Society
Kyoko Sato
Abstract Two recent insights regarding social imaginaries are of particular relevance in thinking about the Fukushima disaster and its aftermath. First, social
imaginaries are consequential for social resilience. Second, imaginaries play a
significant role in the way a society addresses science and technology. In light of
these insights, the chapter explores nuclear imaginaries in Japan before and after
Fukushima, and presents several key historical factors that shaped such imaginaries
in the lasting manner. It presents how Japan’s nuclear imaginaries have persistently
embraced certain ideals of science and technology, and excluded people subject to
radiation risks. The chapter concludes by calling for explicit engagement with our
nuclear imaginaries, in terms of social resilience, and also as an arena where we can
explore more democratic approaches to science and technology. Such engagement
is also consequential to larger visions of society.
Keywords Social imaginaries Á Sociotechnical imaginaries Á Resilience Á Public
engagement with science and technology Á Fukushima nuclear disaster Á Science,
Technology, and Democracy
1 Introduction
For decades, scholars in humanities and social sciences have explored the role of
imagination in social life. After influential works by Anderson [1],
1 Castoriadis [6],
Appadurai [2] and Taylor [36], the concept of social imaginaries—imagined collectivities, together with shared assumptions about social relations and practices, as
K. Sato (&)
Program in Science, Technology, and Society, Stanford University,
Stanford, CA 94305, USA
e-mail: kyokos@stanford.edu
1
In his seminal account of the emergence of nation-states, Anderson defined the nation as “an
imagined political community”—the product of the shared imaginations of those who perceive
themselves as members.
© The Author(s) 2017
J. Ahn et al. (eds.), Resilience: A New Paradigm of Nuclear Safety,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-58768-4_15
195
and After Fukushima: Visions of Science,
Technology, and Society
Kyoko Sato
Abstract Two recent insights regarding social imaginaries are of particular relevance in thinking about the Fukushima disaster and its aftermath. First, social
imaginaries are consequential for social resilience. Second, imaginaries play a
significant role in the way a society addresses science and technology. In light of
these insights, the chapter explores nuclear imaginaries in Japan before and after
Fukushima, and presents several key historical factors that shaped such imaginaries
in the lasting manner. It presents how Japan’s nuclear imaginaries have persistently
embraced certain ideals of science and technology, and excluded people subject to
radiation risks. The chapter concludes by calling for explicit engagement with our
nuclear imaginaries, in terms of social resilience, and also as an arena where we can
explore more democratic approaches to science and technology. Such engagement
is also consequential to larger visions of society.
Keywords Social imaginaries Á Sociotechnical imaginaries Á Resilience Á Public
engagement with science and technology Á Fukushima nuclear disaster Á Science,
Technology, and Democracy
1 Introduction
For decades, scholars in humanities and social sciences have explored the role of
imagination in social life. After influential works by Anderson [1],
1 Castoriadis [6],
Appadurai [2] and Taylor [36], the concept of social imaginaries—imagined collectivities, together with shared assumptions about social relations and practices, as
K. Sato (&)
Program in Science, Technology, and Society, Stanford University,
Stanford, CA 94305, USA
e-mail: kyokos@stanford.edu
1
In his seminal account of the emergence of nation-states, Anderson defined the nation as “an
imagined political community”—the product of the shared imaginations of those who perceive
themselves as members.
© The Author(s) 2017
J. Ahn et al. (eds.), Resilience: A New Paradigm of Nuclear Safety,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-58768-4_15
195