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

该基金支持对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，例如日本和美国对这场灾难的不同理解是如何出现的，关于核电的基本理念在灾难发生后发生了怎样的变化，以及这些事态发展对政策和治理有什么影响。研究人员将使用定量和定性的方法，包括语篇分析和访谈。该项目将在三个领域对日本和美国关于福岛的论述进行比较：大众媒体报道、法律和政策文件，以及来自科学、工业和公民社会的利益相关者的观点。在人们对气候变化的担忧日益加剧之际，核能已重新成为一种清洁能源。公众对核事故的担忧仍然是这项能源技术进一步发展的关键障碍。因此，对于学者和政策制定者来说，了解福岛反应堆熔毁等事件是如何解释、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料管理是国际关注的问题，了解各国在描述和通报核风险方面的相似之处和差异也很重要。潜在的更广泛的影响该项目将产生许多更广泛的影响。它将促进博士后培训和人力资源开发，通报风险沟通做法，并向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.