Standard Research Grant: The Fukushima Disaster and the Politics of Nuclear Power in the United States and Japan

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IntroductionThis grant supports research on societal aspects of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. The project will address a number of questions such as how different understandings of the disaster are emerging in Japan and the US, how underlying ideas about nuclear power are changing in the disaster's wake, and what implications these developments have for policy and governance. The researchers will use both quantitative and qualitative methods, including discourse analysis and interviews. The project will compare Japanese and US discourses about Fukushima in three domains: Mass media coverage, legal and policy documents, and stakeholder perspectives from science, industry, and civil society. Intellectual MeritNuclear power has reemerged as a clean energy source in a time of rising concern with climate change. Public anxiety concerning nuclear accidents remains a key obstacle to further development of this energy technology. It is therefore critically important for scholars and policymakers to understand how events such as the reactor meltdown at Fukushima are interpreted, reported, and affect public attitudes. Since reactor safety and nuclear waste management are matters of international concern, it is also important to understand cross-national similarities and differences in the characterization and communication of nuclear risks. Potential Broader ImpactsThe project will have a number of broader impacts. It will facilitate postdoctoral training and human resources development, inform risk communication practices, and offer advice to bodies such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency.