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

该基金支持2011年福岛核灾难的社会方面的研究。该项目将解决一系列问题，如日本和美国对灾难的不同理解，灾难发生后核电的基本思想如何变化，以及这些发展对政策和治理的影响。研究人员将使用定量和定性方法，包括话语分析和访谈。该项目将在三个领域比较日本和美国关于福岛的话语：大众媒体报道，法律的和政策文件，以及来自科学，工业和公民社会的利益相关者的观点。在人们日益关注气候变化的时代，核能作为一种清洁能源重新出现。公众对核事故的担忧仍然是进一步发展这一能源技术的主要障碍。因此，学者和政策制定者了解福岛反应堆熔毁等事件是如何被解释、报道和影响公众态度的，这一点至关重要。由于反应堆安全和核废物管理是国际关注的问题，因此了解各国在核风险的定性和通报方面的异同也很重要。 潜在的更广泛的影响该项目将产生一些更广泛的影响。它将促进博士后培训和人力资源开发，为风险沟通做法提供信息，并为核管理委员会和国际原子能机构等机构提供咨询意见。

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.