Paper short abstract:

This paper examines how different narratives of uncertainty and hope have encouraged social and political action in the post-disaster Fukushima.

Paper long abstract:

The meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant, the news of continuous emissions of radioactive substances, the subsequent crumbling of the 'myth of safety' of nuclear energy and the loss of trust in any authorities in the face of constant lies and conflicting information, have left many of the inhabitants of Fukushima prefecture confused, anxious and, in some cases, on the brink of despair.

Drawing on the interviews collected in the oral narrative archive Voices from Tohoku, this paper traces the feelings and perceptions of hope and hopelessness in post-disaster Fukushima by juxtaposing the reactions of three different groups of local residents - farmers, mothers and Buddhist priests, focusing especially on their characterizations of radiation and its implications for individual and collective futures. Adopting Crapanzano's (2003) distinction between the abstract and concrete objects of hope, it explores how the particularity of the latter has spurred different social and political (in)action on the part of the respective groups, despite their considerably overlapping articulations of hope for the long-term survival and sustainability of the local life.