Human Geography

• Mentorles
• WO
• Studiejaar 1

Human Geography

Rosel, Runar, Simona and Nikita

“How has the Fukushima nuclear disaster influenced migration patterns, urban development and community resilience in Japan looking from a human geography perspective?”

Human Geography

Fukushima disaster: tsunami 

“Concepts of people, place, and the environment, as well as the dynamics and interconnected relationships between them.” 

• Migration patterns, urban development, community resilience

Human geography

(Cirella, 2024)

Fukushima disaster: tsunami 

• Migratory response

• Steps of evacuation

• The Japanese evacuee data 

collection system

• The evacuees

Migration patterns

(Do, 2019; Gemmenne et al., 2012; Hauer et al., 2020)

“Urban development refers to the process of growth, expansion, and transformation of urban areas, encompassing physical, economic, social, and environmental aspects of urban life. It involves the planning, design, construction, and management of infrastructure, buildings, public spaces, and services to accommodate the needs of urban populations.”

“Urban development refers to the process of growth, expansion, and transformation of urban areas, encompassing physical, economic, social, and environmental aspects of urban life. It involves the planning, design, construction, and management of infrastructure, buildings, public spaces, and services to accommodate the needs of urban populations.”

(DefinitionGo.com, 2024)

Fukushima disaster: tsunami 

• Coastal Levees

• Zone A: industrial area

• Elevated roads

• Zone C: city center

• Zone D: in-land shift

Fukushima disaster: Tsunami

(Kondo & Lizarralde, 2021)

Fukushima disaster: tsunami 

• Evacuation

• Radiation contamination

• Long time period: villages uninhabitable

• Government investments

Fukushima disaster: Nuclear meltdown

(Kota, 2020; Mabon, 2019)

Fukushima disaster: tsunami 

• Post-disaster rebuilding

• Hesitation to return

Is urban development enough?

(Mabon, 2019)

If you were a Japanese citizen from one of the affected areas, would you want to return home after learning of the urban development and rebuilding efforts of the government?

Yes

No

Fukushima disaster: tsunami 

• People exaggerated risk

• Adverse health effects

• 58% thought children would mutate 

• Iodine

Community resilience - Risk perception 

(Matsunaga et al., 2022)

Fukushima disaster: tsunami 

• People who stayed

• Returnees

• Prospects

To say or not to say

(Koyama, 2022)

Who are affected most economically by the incident and the following policy?

1. The people who lived closest to the NPP
2. The TEPCO shareholders
3. Poor rural communities

Fukushima disaster: tsunami 

• Infrastructure

• Contaminated soil

• Attract young people to build up the economy

• Rural communities in trouble

Financial trouble

(Schreurs, 2020)

Does economic recovery mean recovery for everyone, or do some groups benefit more from it than others?

Fukushima disaster: tsunami 

Community resilience - Social aspects

(Maeda et al, 2022; Maeda & Oe, 2017; Oe et al., 2021)

• Family separations

• Loss and disconnect

• Conflict leading to social fragmentation 

• Perceptions of radiation risk

• Interfamilial tensions

Fukushima disaster: tsunami 

Community resilience - Mental aspects

(Maeda et al, 2022; Maeda & Oe, 2017; Oe et al., 2021)

• PTSD, depression and anxiety 

• Increased suicide rates and alcohol dependency

• Radiation stigma

Fukushima disaster: tsunami 

Factors affecting mental resilience

(Maeda & Oe, 2017; Ohto et al., 2017)

• Social support

• Long-term evacuations

• Mothers and children

Fukushima disaster: tsunami 

Community recovery efforts

(Maeda et al., 2022; Ohto et al., 2017)

• Government and local initiatives

• Rebuilding efforts

• Mental health and Lifestyle Surveys (MHLS)

• Resettlement policies

• Restoring social networks

Fukushima disaster: tsunami 

Recovery - Mental health interventions

(Maeda et al., 2022; Oe et al., 2021)

• Outreach programs

• Mental health counseling

• Community-driven mental health initiatives

Fukushima disaster: tsunami 

Recovery - Rebuilding social cohesion

(Ohto et al., 2017)

• Educational campaigns 

• Support for economic recovery

If you were a policymaker, what measures would you implement to strengthen community resilience in a post-disaster situation like Fukushima?

“How has the Fukushima nuclear disaster influenced migration patterns, urban development and community resilience in Japan looking from a human geography perspective?”

Fukushima disaster: tsunami 

References

Cirella, G. T. (2024). Human Geography. MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.

Crimella, C. & Dagnan C. (2012). The 11 March triple disaster in Japan. In F. Gemenne, P. Brücker, & D.

Ionesco (Eds.), The State of Environmental migration 2011 (pp. 35-46), Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations.

DefinitionGo.com. (2024, 5 October). Definition of URBAN DEVELOPMENT meaning and examples. DefinitionGo! https://definitiongo.com/urban-development/

Do, X. B. (2019). Fukushima nuclear disaster displacement: How far people moved and determinants

of evacuation destinations. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 33, pp. 235-

252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2018.10.009

Entrikin, N. (2018). Geography of experience: place and region. In Paasi, A. Harrison, J. & Jones, M. (eds.) Handbook on the Geographies of Regions and Territories. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, pp. 44-56. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781785365805.00012 

Hauer, M. E., Holloway, S. R., & Oda, T. (2020). Evacuees and migrants exhibit different migration

systems after the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami. Demography, 57(4), pp. 1437-1457. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-020-00883-7

Jessop et al. (2008). Theorizing sociospatial relations. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 26(3), pp. 389-401. https://doi.org/10.1068/d9107

Kondo, T., & Lizarralde, G. (2021). Maladaptation, fragmentation, and other secondary effects of

centralized post-disaster urban planning: The case of the 2011 “cascading” disaster in Japan. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 58, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102219

Kota, K. (2020). Current Status and Issues of Residents and Areas Affected by the Fukushima Nuclear

Disaster after the Lifting of Evacuation Orders. URPR, 7, 109–131. https://doi.org/10.14398/urpr.7.109

Koyama, Y. (2022). Living with contradiction – Risk perception, self-determination, and life after

Fukushima. Environmental Advances, 7, 100181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envadv.2022.100181

Mabon, L. (2019). Enhancing post-disaster resilience by ‘building back greener’: Evaluating the

contribution of nature-based solutions to recovery planning in Futaba County, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Landscape and Urban Planning, 187, 105–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.03.013

Maeda, M., & Oe, M. (2017). Mental Health Consequences and Social Issues After the Fukushima

Disaster. Asia Pacific Journal Of Public Health, 29, 36S-46S. https://doi.org/10.1177/1010539516689695

Maeda, M., Harigane, M., Horikoshi, N., Takebayashi, Y., Sato, H., Takahashi, A., Momoi, M., Goto, S.,

Oikawa, Y., Mizuki, R., Miura, I., Itagaki, S., Yabe, H., Ohira, T., Yasumura, S., Ohto, H., & Kamiya, K. (2022). Long-Term, Community-based Approach for Affected People Having Problems with Mental Health and Lifestyle Issues After the 2011 Fukushima Disaster: the Fukushima Health Management Survey. Journal Of Epidemiology, 32, S47-S56. https://doi.org/10.2188/jea.je20210178 

Matsunaga, H., Orita, M., Taira, Y., Shibayama, K., Shinchi, K., & Takamura, N. (2022). Risk perception

regarding a nuclear accident and common factors related to health among guardians residing near a restarted nuclear power plant in Japan after the Fukushima accident. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 70, 102776. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102776

Oe, M., Takebayashi, Y., Sato, H., & Maeda, M. (2021). Mental Health Consequences of the Three Mile

Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima Nuclear Disasters: A Scoping Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(14), 7478. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147478

Ohto, H., Yasumura, S., Maeda, M., Kainuma, H., Fujimori, K., & Nollet, K. E. (2017). From Devastation

to Recovery and Revival in the Aftermath of Fukushima’s Nuclear Power Plants Accident. Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, 29, 10S-17S. https://doi.org/10.1177/1010539516675700

Schreurs, M. A. (2020). Reconstruction and revitalization in Fukushima a decade after the “triple

disaster” struck: Striving for sustainability and a new future vision. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 53, 102006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.102006