Environment and Justice: The 2011 Japan Disasters - Essay Example

? Environment and Justice: The Japan Disasters Essay of Introduction Environmental disasters and their effect on different populations and communities all over the world have challenged environmentalists, social workers, governments, and NGOs recently not just by the rate of their recurrence, but also by their complication and the massive destruction to the physical environment of the planet and to the safety of huge numbers of living beings inhabiting it. Those related to natural disasters like the 2011 earthquakes in Japan, which also involved several calamities brought about by radioactive seepages and tsunami, have besieged the helping agencies by the scale of the destruction caused (Lusted, 2011). In addition, they have emphasized the relationships between social policies, economic necessities, and human actions and the degree of affliction endured by survivors. For instance, according to Kaufmann and Penciakova (2011), corporate silence in Japan implied that the destruction was more massive than it should have been and that collective action and emergency responses were impeded by the inadequacy of information, resources, and infrastructures needed to cope with this disaster. People living in poverty suffer the impact of these social injustices. The experiences of survivors call for changes in the visualization of and responses to catastrophes, as does protecting and strengthening the environment. Helping agencies should step up to the challenges created by these social injustices. Although helping agencies have offered counseling programs and humanitarian support to the survivors of the 2011 Japan catastrophe their opinion and plight has largely been ignored by the media (Senauth, 2011). Helping agencies, more often than not, have a good understanding of what are needed for a successful and environmentally friendly emergency response but they are often ignored in decision-making circles. This is another social injustice that should be dealt with. Governance, Environment, and Citizenship: The Response to the 2011 Japan Disasters Japan has been struck by strong earthquakes and their impacts, like radioactive seepages and tsunami, and has used up massive amount of resources to reinforce their infrastructures and improve safety. Despite the Tohoku calamity, remarkable successes are evident in these attempts, like tsunami infrastructure and warnings that remained strong in the face of extensive fires and explosions (Ratnapradipa et al., 2012). However, in spite of these successes, infrastructures sustained massive damages, with hazards to the health of the population. The homeless population increased tenfold. Relief efforts and humanitarian groups were hampered by the massive destruction to the transportation system; shelters experienced food and water shortages for days. In the past decade, Japan has put into effect policies and guidelines that made the nation highly prepared for natural disasters. Even though the number of fatalities from the earthquakes is high, most fatalities are because of the tsunami. Japan has adopted and implemented stronger building regulations (Ratnapradipa et al., 2012). Thus, Japanese buildings are expected to be more durable and tougher. But the response to the nuclear power plant disaster has been insufficient, revealing weaknesses in governance. The nuclear plant disaster is revealing the degree to which the major nuclear industry of Japan has been suffering from negligent or poor leadership and supervision, or worse. To begin with, the competence of the regulator becomes questionable in view of TEPCO’s—Tokyo Electric Power Company-- record of dishonesty. In evaluating the industry’s governance, it would be unjust to isolate a single company, when the whole industry was in fact incompetent (Kaufmann & Penciakova, 2011). Four years prior to the tsunami, the Japanese power industry and government were informed that nuclear power plants do not have the ability to endure massive earthquakes. But up to now, the Japanese government has remained silent over the matter (Kaufmann & Penciakova, 2011). Weak policies and poor supervision are also to be held responsible. Both the government and regulators should be held responsible for the nuclear power plant disaster, for ignoring warnings, for failure to establish an independent regulatory committee, for promoting or allowing incompetence among regulators, and for pushing the intensification of nuclear energy locally and globally (Senauth, 2011). Thus far, the Japanese government has shown poor leadership and mostly been unable to handle the disaster successfully. The absence of public disclosure is attributable to TEPCO and the government. So far, the government has inadequately acted to improve physical and human resources at the nuclear power plant (Lusted, 2011). Furthermore, the response of the government to the nuclear crisis has not been completely transparent, although a number of low ranking officials have attempted to be quite cooperative. Disclosure of information associated with the nuclear crisis by the TEPCO and the government has been insufficient and ambiguous. The information dissemination system has been misleading, unclear, and untimely, and was predisposed to show a more encouraging picture than the real condition. Due to the unclear response of the government, several major issues arose. It is still uncertain how much radioactive leakage has occurred or how much toxic plutonium has been released to the atmosphere (Lusted, 2011). The government and TEPCO did not disclose the radiation’s chemical components being discharged. The government’s poor transparency throughout this disaster is of paramount concern. The people must be well informed, as the disaster may considerably affect them. Furthermore, improved transparency gives citizens the opportunity to hold authorities responsible for their roles and contributions to the relief efforts (Kaufmann & Penciakova, 2011). In the near future, a strong relationship built on trust between the government and the citizens will be important in keeping the unity within Japan during times of crisis. However, despite these unjust social structures and practices, collective action and performance of good citizenship has greatly helped Japan in its rebuilding efforts. Several organizations, such as GCJN, initiated collective action to promote recovery through cooperation. Several citizens’ groups have developed unique environment programs, which they continuously enhanced and modified while considering the uniqueness of the recovery state of each region (Barrett, 2012). The earthquake was enormously damaging to the nation’s fisheries industry. The disaster also destroyed the bathing beach of Odanohama, named by the Ministry of the Environment as one of the exquisite tourist sites (Senauth, 2011). These were only a few examples of the huge destruction caused by the disaster to Japan’s environment and infrastructure. Thus far, rebuilding attempts have concentrated on the building of temporary shelters, reconstruction of damaged infrastructures, and cleaning the debris produced by the tsunami. The fundamental ideas of this rebuilding efforts and collective action include integrating a participatory system as regards rebuilding attempts, lessening helplessness by improving resilience to disasters, conserving the environment, building equity, improving local economy, and restoring and improving the survivors’ quality of life. Prime Minister Kan encouraged the nation to adopt the European ecotown framework, where in Japanese communities would attempt to be carbon sustainable, as the nation tried to restore its vitality (Barrett, 2012, para 8). Japan’s version of the ecotown was originally formed in 1997with the help of the Ministry of the Environment. Twenty-three urban areas had been classified ecotowns by 2005. These towns have concentrated on building industrial parks, encouraging environmental practices like recycling, environmental-friendly energy management, and green consumerism (Barrett, 2012, para 8-9). Rebuilding the communities destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami will create the major challenge of harmonizing the force of rebuilding efforts with the permission of the citizens. For example, the government is planning to build new shelters on hillsides far away from the coast, taking advantage of the coastal areas for agricultural projects (Karan & Subbiah, 2011). The knowledge of the Transition Movement—a global system of communities and cities trying to develop resilience at times of major climate change—may be useful in directing rebuilding attempts in Japan. The Transition model can be specifically useful in illustrating how to rebuild through grassroots approach (Barrett, 2012). The Transition Movement encourages local participation and motivates communities to exercise their resourcefulness, utilizing current local resources. As regards rebuilding efforts after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and radioactive leakages, the central government intervention could impede the ability of communities to have a say or influence on the rebuilding programs (Kaufmann & Penciakova, 2011). Using the experiences of the Transition Movement would facilitate the empowerment of communities. Public demand for renewable energy is still intense. Improving the energy policy and regulation of Japan is a challenging but not an impossible task. The Japan Renewable Energy Foundation claims that Japan can have a significant supply of renewable energy two decades from now (Barrett, 2012). Nevertheless, to realize these goals for renewable energy Japan will also have to decrease its energy consumption through power-saving and energy efficient methods. However, according to Mark Jacobson, a prominent scholar from Stanford University, the capacity of Japan to create renewable energy has not been examined comprehensively, claiming that “there is no reason Japan can’t go to 100% renewable if it really wants to. It is not a technological issue; it is a will-power issue, as the technology and resources are there. Generally, it is sunk special interests and subsidies to the wrong groups (namely fossil and nuclear), slowing the way. A few policy measures shifting subsidies from the polluters to clean energy would go a long way toward solving the problem” (Barrett, 2012, para 20). Antony Froggatt, a British scholar, said that any method that Japan implements could basically affect future energy policy across the globe (Barrett, 2012, para 21). If Japan, according to Ratnapradipa and colleagues (2012), a nation which has hardly any supply of natural energy resources, is able to discover new energy method that required less or no fossil and nuclear power, it would be greatly valuable globally. Conclusions Although the response of the Japanese government to the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear fallout has been ambiguous and weak, it is not yet reasonable to conclude that the response has been completely ineffective. On several instances, Japan still has great successes, especially with regard to its efforts to rebuild and rectify environmental degradation caused by unjust social practices, which it could be proud of. It showed effective governance in the preparation for and response to the tsunami and earthquake. However, it appears that governance inadequacies overwhelmed the response of the government to the nuclear fallout. The absence of effective leadership and supervision and transparency within the government and TEPCO are of special importance as it risks weakening public trust. As the nation embarked on and continue with its rebuilding efforts, public confidence and cooperation will be the most critical instruments. As regards the stability of nuclear power plants, determined and strong leadership within the government is now crucial to the mitigation of the disastrous accidents. Prompt and appropriate evaluation of the needs and demands of the communities and populations nearby the damaged nuclear power plant should be prioritized by the government, including assessment of relocation programs. The disaster preparedness and resilience of Japan gives out optimism, but strong leadership within the government alongside improved transparency will be similarly important. Ultimately, it is the unity among citizens and efforts to protect the environment that will powerfully determine the success of Japan’s rebuilding efforts. References Barrett, B. (2012). After the Nuclear Disaster, Japan Considers a Green Future. Solutions, 3(1). Retrieved from http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/1044 Karan, P. & Subbiah, S. (2011). The Indian Ocean Tsunami: The Global Response to a Natural Disaster. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. Kaufmann, D. & Penciakova, V. (2011). Japan’s Triple Disaster: Governance and the Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Crises. Brookings. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2011/03/16-japan-disaster-kaufmann Lusted, M. (2011). 2011 Japan Disasters. Minnesota: ABDO. Ratnapradipa, D. et al. (2012). The 2011 Japanese Earthquake: An Overview of Environmental Health Impacts. Journal of Environmental Health, 74(6), 42+ Senauth, F. (2011). Earthquake-Tsunami-Disaster in Japan 2011. New York: AuthorHouse. 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