• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Jessica Tuchman Mathews",
    "James M. Acton"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [
    "Japan's Nuclear Crisis"
  ],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "NPP",
  "programs": [
    "Nuclear Policy"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "East Asia",
    "Japan"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Nuclear Policy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

Other

Review of “The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Disaster: Investigating the Myth and Reality”

While physical aftershocks from the earthquake that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, have long ceased, societal aftershocks are still reverberating.

Link Copied
By Jessica Tuchman Mathews and James M. Acton
Published on Feb 26, 2014
Program mobile hero image

Program

Nuclear Policy

The Nuclear Policy Program aims to reduce the risk of nuclear war. Our experts diagnose acute risks stemming from technical and geopolitical developments, generate pragmatic solutions, and use our global network to advance risk-reduction policies. Our work covers deterrence, disarmament, arms control, nonproliferation, and nuclear energy.

Learn More

Source: Independent Investigation Commission on the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident

While physical aftershocks from the earthquake that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, have long ceased, societal aftershocks are still reverberating. Most obviously, 110,000 of the evacuees forced to flee from the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl have yet to return to their homes. For many Japanese - not just the evacuees and their famiilies - their dislocation is an open wound. 

At the same time, Japanese society has gained a new interest in its country's governance. Until the accident, it had been willing to let bureaucrats make most key policies with a minimum of interference. Now, a wave of public involvement, which was started by dissatisfaction over energy policy, is having effects in unrelated areas, such as pensions. 

A robust and engaged civil society is surely a welcome development. Japan has been in a sustained economic slump for almost two decades, partly as a result of a political system devoid of imagination and unable to innovate. (Although, hopefully, Japan's new prime minister's signature economic policy of "Abenomics" will turn out to be an exception to that rule.) It may be painful for the Kasumigaseki bureaucrats, but an injection of energy from civil society could - perhaps - be a turning point....

This book was published by Routledge. 

About the Authors

Jessica Tuchman Mathews

Distinguished Fellow

Mathews is a distinguished fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She served as Carnegie’s president for 18 years.

James M. Acton

Jessica T. Mathews Chair, Co-director, Nuclear Policy Program

Acton holds the Jessica T. Mathews Chair and is co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Authors

Jessica Tuchman Mathews
Distinguished Fellow
Jessica Tuchman Mathews
James M. Acton
Jessica T. Mathews Chair, Co-director, Nuclear Policy Program
James M. Acton
Nuclear PolicyEast AsiaJapan

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Corrupted by Absolute Power

    In an interview, Marc Lynch discusses his new book decrying the post-1990 U.S.-dominated order in the Middle East.

      Michael Young

  • people looking at damage
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Two Wars Later, Iran’s Nuclear Question Is Still on the Table

    Tehran may conclude that its ability to disrupt the global economy via the Strait of Hormuz provides enough deterrence to begin quietly rebuilding its nuclear program.

      • Jane Darby Menton
      • Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar

      Jane Darby Menton, Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Could the Iran War Push Japan to Restore Russian Oil Imports?

    Tokyo would have to surmount a lot of obstacles—not least Western sanctions—if it wanted to return Russian oil imports to even modest pre-2022 volumes.

      Vladislav Pashchenko

  • Aerial view of Chernobyl damage
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Chernobyl Is Still a Current Event, Forty Years Later

    The 1986 incident showed that a nuclear accident anytime is a nuclear accident for all time.

      Corey Hinderstein

  • Article
    From Labor Scarcity to AI Society: Governing Productivity in East Asia

    The debate over AI and work too often centers on displacement. Facing aging populations and shrinking workforces, East Asian policymakers view AI not as a threat, but as a cross-sectoral workforce strategy.

      Darcie Draudt-Véjares, Sophie Zhuang

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.