Nagasaki, approx. 1300 metres from epicentre. 10 August 1945. Recuerdos de Pandora/Flickr. Some rights reserved.A quarter of a century after the end of the Cold War, the spectre of a nuclear Armageddon continues to haunt mankind. The detonation of the world’s first atom bomb over Hiroshima 70 years ago not only brought the Second World War to a swift conclusion but ushered in a nuclear age. Japan was further reminded of the dangers of nuclear power – even when used for peaceful purposes – by the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after the tragic events of 11 March 11 2011 (hereafter known as 3/11). Although the damage from the earthquake and tsunami was largely confined to the Tohoku coastline in the north-east of Japan, the nuclear crisis precipitated by the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant invoked comparisons with Hiroshima.
3/11 soon became, along with 6 August 1945, Japan’s collective trauma; an event around which a narrative of a ‘resilient’ nation was constructed. Both Hiroshima and Fukushima left their indelible mark on the Japanese collective psyche, changing national identity in fundamental and irrevocable ways.
'Kizuna'
US and Japan join forces to respond to disaster. Sara Csurilla/Flickr. Some rights reserved.National identity in contemporary Japan is best exemplified by the term 'kizuna' which interpellates the Japanese as a resilient people who have continually adapted to the challenges thrown at them. Translated as ‘bonds’, the term 'kizuna' was invoked by the government and civil society groups alike to emphasize the solidarity with the victims of the ‘triple disasters’ in Tohoku. Deployed as such, it was not an explicitly nationalist slogan and was primarily associated with volunteerism and citizen activism often mediated through information technology.
