The Great East Japan Earthquake: Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster

Abstract

The Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred in 2011, was the worst complex disaster in human history that brought serious and multidimensional psychosocial effects on many people in Japan. First, the tsunami struck the coastal area of the Tohoku region and subsequently resulted in the explosion of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In this chapter, these two tragic events and their psychosocial consequences are described. We especially focused on the nuclear disaster in Fukushima because of its long-term and serious effects on people living in or out of Fukushima Prefecture and the worldwide concern it brought. Also, in order to more deeply understand the current complicated situation in Fukushima, we reviewed three major nuclear accidents, including one which occurred in Japan. The various psychosocial reactions associated with the nuclear disaster in Fukushima can be summarized within five main issues: posttraumatic stress response, chronic anxiety and guilt, ambiguous loss, separated families and communities, and stigma. We offer recommendations for effective intervention to mitigate adversities, including mothers’ anxieties and guilt feelings, the stigma against the Fukushima people, and exhaustion and burnout of the local staff.