What does the 2011 Japanese tsunami tell us about the nature of the global economy

Bibliographic Data

ID3977872
AuthorsAndrew Herod (0000-0002-5668-3803, University of Georgia, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume12
Issue8
Pages829-837
Publication date2011-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial & Cultural Geography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-9365 • E-ISSN: 1470-1197
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14649365.2011.629301
OpenAlexW2088033315
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited8

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes 1 There has been an interesting politics of death in the aftermath of the tragedy. In particular, there have been claims that the NPA has fudged the mortality numbers downwards, so as to make things appear to have been somewhat less devastating than they may actually have been. 2 Although TEPCO argued that the level of radioactive materials detected in the water was below the legal standard for releasing it into the environment, Japan's Fisheries Agency prohibited the release. 3 It should be remembered that there is a class dynamic to such codes. When the Kobe earthquake struck in 1995, of the more than 6,000 people who died, the majority lived in poorer, working-class districts where the government had failed to implement the higher standards. 4 By way of comparison, Greece's gross domestic product is about $330 billion. 5 By the end of May, Toyota was estimating that it had lost production of 550,000 vehicles in Japan and another 350,000 overseas, while Honda gave a figure of 58,500 vehicles in Japan (Yuasa 2011 Yuasa, S. 2011. Japan exports sag in April after tsunami. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 25 May [Google Scholar]). 6 Keiretsu are networks of nominally independent firms which work closely with Japanese companies, manufacturing parts for their products and providing them with capital (Aoyama 2000 Aoyama, Y. 2000. Networks, keiretsu, and locations of the Japanese electronics industry in Asia. Environment and Planning A, 32(2): 223–244. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Generally, a supplier who is part of, say, Toyota's keiretsu will not manufacture parts for, say, Honda, and vice versa. 7 The rate had been ¥82.99 on 10 March (www.xe.com). 8 China is presently the US government's largest creditor, owning $1.15 trillion in government securities, as of April 2011. Britain is the third-largest holder, at $333 billion. 9 All other things being equal, higher interest rates tend to strengthen a currency, thereby making goods denominated in that currency more expensive for others to buy. 10 This name comes from the title of a book written in 1979 by investigative journalist Horie Kunio, who worked for a subcontractor to learn about the conditions under which nuclear power plant workers toiled and was himself exposed to nuclear radiation. Among the places he worked was the Fukushima I plant. 11 These figures have remained constant for at least the past two decades. 12 In Japan, the legal limit for 'safe' radiation exposure has long been set at 100 mSv over 5 years (either 20 mSv a year for five years or 50 mSv for 2 years), with a maximum of 50 mSv in any one year. This maximum was higher than the International Commission on Radiological Protection's guideline of a maximum of 20 mSv a year. After the Fukushima leak, TEPCO asked the government to increase the maximum dose to 150 mSv. The Ministry of Health then went further, raising it to 250 mSv, an action believed by many as a prelude to denying future claims for compensation for occupational disease (Jobin 2011 Jobin, P. 2011. Dying for TEPCO? Fukushima's nuclear contract workers. The Asia-Pacific Journal, 2 May [Google Scholar]). 13 It is important to note that among these contract workers are actually some highly skilled technicians who supervise maintenance operations and who have much better work conditions and remuneration than do most. They are, though, a minority. Tabuchi (2011b Tabuchi, H. 2011b. Economy sends Japanese to Fukushima for jobs. New York Times, 9 June [Google Scholar]) lists average annual wages for peripheral workers at about $30,000, though commenters on Japanese websites familiar with the plant suggest that the range is about ¥130,000 ($1,560) to ¥240,000 ($2,900) a month for such work (i.e. $18,720 – $34,800 per year

Agency (philosophy · Archaeology · Business · Capital (architecture · Constitution · Economic history · Economics · Economy · Government (linguistics · Keiretsu · Political science · Politics · Product (mathematics · Production (economics · Social science · Sociology · Employment and Welfare Studies · History · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Finance

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