JAPAN – The Fallout from Fukushima and the Future of Nuclear

Welcome back for another episode of The Meandering Pod!!!This week, we’re hopping back for a final episode about Japan – specifically the worst disaster it ever faced. Although many people may would remember hearing about the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, it’s been 15 years now and not many would still be across the details. Today, we’ll be doing a deep dive on the multifaceted fallout experienced after Fukushima – for Japanese society, it’s energy transition and the nuclear industry generally. We also are very grateful to have interviewed Dr Alexander Brown, about the post-Fukushima protest movement in Tokyo. Enjoy the episode and share with a friend if you feel like it! More on Dr Alexander Brown: His PhDHis book – Anti-nuclear Protest in Post-Fukushima Tokyo: Power StrugglesAn article he wrote about an art installation, Japan and its link between nuclear weapons and power His Substack channel Contesting the Nuclear Age The ‘protest song’ was a snippet from a freestyle performance of the artist Akuryō freestyling at an antinuclear protest in Japan on July 29, 2012 (the mp3 was downloaded from a YouTube account called protestreserach (video originally by ken23qu on youtube). The full clip is available (with subtitles) to watch here. Ethnomusicologist Noriko Manabe wrote this article about music in Japanese anti-nuclear demonstrations (as well as a book), from which the clip was discovered.Interesting content about Fukushima: Graphic novel – Guardian of Fukushima TV show – Fukushima 50Animated YouTube video – More songs – "humanERROR" by FRYING DUTCHMAN and 'It was always a lie' by Kazuyoshi Saito (a cover of his own song but with Fukushima plant protest lyrics)Key sources: BBC: Fukushima disaster: What happened at the nuclear plant?​Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Why Fukushima Was Preventable ScienceDirect journal article: The Fukushima nuclear accident and its effect on global energy securityIAEA: Nuclear Power 10 Years After Fukushima: The Long Road BackNamazu Myth Explained BBC: UK nuclear support 'rises after Fukushima'