Nuclear Power for Good: Articulations in Japan's Nuclear Power Hegemony

Abstract

The Fukushima nuclear meltdown in March 2011 led the majority of the Japanese to support a phase-out of nuclear power. Yet, nuclear energy has become so interwoven with the social, economic, and political fabric of the Japanese society that its termination requires considerable structural and ideological changes to the society and the culture of Japan. This article examines 4 articulations that helped to shape Japan's pronuclear discourse and maintain its hegemonic status. I discuss the ways in which a variety of discursive practices were deployed to articulate nuclear power as virtuous, absolutely safe, necessary, and environmentally friendly.Despite being the only country in the world to experience the horror of nuclear bombs, Japan eagerly built nuclear power plants to secure energy independence, becoming the third largest owner of nuclear power plants in the world after the United States and France. Before the meltdown of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant in March 2011, Japan's nuclear energy provided about 30% of Japan's electricity consumption, and its share was expected to grow to 50% by 2030 (World Nuclear Association, 2010).But the Fukushima disaster put this plan on hold. Following the disaster, all 50 nuclear reactors went offline for the first time since 1970. Since the disaster, there have been ongoing protests and demonstrations all over Japan against continuation of nuclear energy. A number of public surveys showed results reflecting this antinuclear sentiment. In the public comments elicited by the government in summer 2012 with regard to the country's dependence on nuclear power for electricity, 87% of those who responded (89,124) chose the "zero nuclear" scenario out of three options: 30%, 15%, and 0% ("Pabu come," 2012, August 27). Similarly, in a telephone opinion poll about

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“…Hall (1985) says the point of articulation is to create a connection between two things, which require no inherent similarities, and create a belief that these things function together in some way. As part of a hegemonic process, articulation can be a tool used for political and ideological ends (Kinefuchi, 2015).…”