Shaping the National Narrative: From Hiroshima to Fukushima and Beyond

This chapter examines the efforts to shape a national narrative about the role of science and technology, including nuclear power, through key events such as the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1970 Osaka Expo. Japan provided a developmental model for other nations in East Asia. North Korea looked to Japan’s introduction of the improved Calder Hall reactor at Tōkai-mura and its production of plutonium as a way of countering the threat posed by the USA through its support of South Korea. Japan’s Calder Hall reactor provided a model for the Yongbyon reactor that operated initially from 1986 to 1994. Meanwhile, Japan pursued the dream of building fast breeder reactors and in 1993 introduced the character of Plutonium Boy to downplay the perceived dangers of plutonium. But the dangers of nuclear power were real. A string of accidents at nuclear facilities culminated in the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 which further undermined the idea that nuclear power was safe, leading to calls to shut down all Japanese power reactors. Japan’s reliance on nuclear power is now much diminished