Synopses & Reviews
In March 2011 a magnitude 9 earthquake struck off the eastern coast of northern Japan, triggering a massive tsunami and damaging a nearby nuclear reactor. Nearly twenty thousand people were killed or went missing, and many areas have yet to rebuild. Megaquake: How Japan and the World Should Respond, authored by the prolific and award-winning writer Tetsuo Takashima five years before this disaster, appears here for the first time in English.
This edition of Megaquake has been updated with additional information, including a new chapter coauthored by Robert D. Eldridge, translator and one of the key American officials involved in the response to the 2011 earthquake. Both Takashima and Eldridge experienced the 1995 Kobe earthquake and combined their skills and insights to produce this English-language edition to offer the lessons Japan has learned over the centuries, having endured a disproportionate share of disasters. Takashima and Eldridge hope to educate the international community about how to prepare for and respond to the next big Japanese earthquake, which is expected to far exceed the 2011 quake in terms of lives lost, destruction of infrastructure, and worldwide economic impact.
Review
“The portrait presented of Japanese political opinion and communication manifests considerable diversity”--Pacific Affairs
“This volume uses comprehensive polling data and media content analysis to demonstrate the shift in Japanese public opinion from broad pacifism to defensive realism over the past decade. The authors offer a nuanced assessment of both the strategic significance of that change and the continued constraints on Japans military role.” - Michael J. Green, Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, and Japan Chair, CSIS, Georgetown University; author of Japans Reluctant Realism (2000).
Review
and#8220;The most obvious threats are often the most neglected, despite elected governmentsand#8217; responsibility to protect. . . . Takashima and Eldridge provide a compelling study of disaster preparedness and response with insights for Japan and the U.S. Their case for greater coordination and preparation is must-reading for officials of both nations.and#8221;and#8212;Wallace C. Gregson, Lieutenant General USMC (retired) and senior director, China and the Pacific, Center for the National Interest
Review
and#8220;If more people had read this book in Japanese prophesying the megaquake in Japan prior to the Great East Japan Earthquake, we would have been able to minimize the damage. After experiencing the 3.11 disasters, Japan must seriously come to grips with this reality. And now, English readers can learn from Japanand#8217;s experience through this book.and#8221;and#8212;Kensuke Onishi,and#160;CEO of Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management
Synopsis
Japanese Public Opinion and the War on Terrorism examines the effect the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States had on one of Americas most important ally, Japan, as it struggles to define a post-Cold War role for itself in international security affairs. This study looks at Japanese mass opinion, the role of the Japanese media, both print and visual, in framing discourse on security, the response of political parties to public opinion, the position of Japanese intellectuals in the debate on the war on terrorism, civil society, and public opinion in Okinawa.
Synopsis
Japanese Public Opinion and the War on Terrorism examines the effect the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States had on one of America’s most important ally, Japan, as it struggles to define a post-Cold War role for itself in international security affairs. This study looks at Japanese mass opinion, the role of the Japanese media, both print and visual, in framing discourse on security, the response of political parties to public opinion, the position of Japanese intellectuals in the debate on the war on terrorism, civil society, and public opinion in Okinawa.
Synopsis
In this volume the contributors argue that the events of 9-11 and the subsequent "war on terrorism" have had big implications for Japan. These events have called into question the assumptions and limits of Japans war-renouncing constitution.
About the Author
TETSUO TAKASHIMA is a well-known Japanese writer. His debut novel,
Fallout, has been translated into English. ROBERT D. ELDRIDGE is the deputy assistant chief of staff (G-7, government and external affairs) for the Marine Corps Installations Pacific. He speaks regularly to audiences in Japan on disaster planning and response. He is the author of numerous books, including most recently
The Origins of U.S. Policy in the East China Sea Islands Dispute: Okinawaand#8217;s Reversion and the Senkaku Islands.
Table of Contents
Japanese Mass Opinion towards the War on Terrorism * Framing Japanese Homeland Security: Mass Media and Public Opinion * Japans Insider and Outside Media Discourse about the SDF Dispatch to Iraq * Japanese Political Parties Face Public Opinion: Leading, Responding, or Ignoring? * Japanese Intellectuals and Public Opinion in the War on Terrorism * Japanese Civil Society, NGOs, and Spatializing Politics: Mobilization of Public Opinion and the War in Iraq * Public Opinion in a Base Community: Okinawa and the War on Terrorism