ONE

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Narrative History: Representing Disaster Project

It has been almost a year since 3.11. The Great East Japan Earthquake struck Japan, followed by
tsunami, and nuclear disaster. The devastation caused by this earthquake was not simply a physical one. It
destroyed the community cultivated over the time, and the basis of the post-war Japanese society. In this
conference, we will take a look at 3.11 from three perspectives.
The first perspective is Disaster Survival. 3.11 turned peoples lives upside down. At first, people
were stunned, at a loss for not knowing what to do. And right after that they started to experience suffering and
grieving, facing many difficulties. Even right now at this precise moment. We will focus on listening to the voices
of the affected, and try to understand 3.11 through the firsthand accounts of the interviewees.
The second perspective is peoples reaction and response. People started voicing questions toward
the current Japanese societal system. What is wrong with Japanese society? In what direction should we steer
Japan to? From these voices, civil activities and social movements have sprung up. We will try to deepen our
understanding of the peoples response through looking at these actions from the lens of our narrators.
The third perspective is the future prospect. 3.11 has shed spotlight on nuclear power plant. How are
we going to deal with this difficult issue? We will take German civil activity as an example and learn, think, and
reflect upon this problem in order to seek for our future prospects.

*This conference is a presentation of a research outcome of Sophia University project Oral History:
Representing Disaster Project (Professor David Slater.) Many intellectuals and media have discussed 3.11.
However, there were only few attempts at listening to the accounts of the people who have actually
experienced this disaster. Students participating in this project have listened to, and recorded the experiences
of the affected so as to pass these voices down the generations.

Date/Time: Sunday, February 12, 2012 13:00 19:00

th

Place: Room 508 Building No.2 5 Floor, Sophia University, Yotsuya Campus
Languages: In English and Japanese (Q&A session interpreted, slides will be in both English and Japanese )

Organized by: European Institute of Sophia University, Graduate School of Global Studies,
and Institute of Comparative Culture

ONE

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LATER

Representing Disaster

2011

1:00-1:15

David H. Slater, , Opening Speech ()

1 Disaster Survival
1:15-1:30

David H. Slater, The Importance

of Voice in Times of Crisis: An Overview

1:30-1:45

John Lichten, JET

Teachers of the JET Program and Earthquake
Recovery: Members of the Community, or Foreign Nuisance?

1:45-2:00

, 3.11 Cognitive Change in

Fukushima Residents through the Lens of 3.11

2:00-2:15

Lenka Vyletalova, ' Caring for Kokoro in the

Community

2:15-2:30

, ,
What is recovery for survivors?

2:30-2:45

Patrick Clarke, Cecilia Fujishima, Michael de chuyter,

Temporary Housing: Leadership and the Future

2:45-3:15

Q&A interpreter provided

3:15-3:45

3:45-4:00

, 3.11 Civil Activities and

Social Movements after 3.11: An Overview

4:00-4:15

Julian Hopkins and , Reasons

for participating in a demonstration

4:15-4:30

Isabel Pichler, Tokyo - In the streets

4:30-4:45

Love Kinstrand,

Spaces of democracy: narratives of fear and desire in the

anti-nuclear movement after 3/11

4:45-5:15

Q&A interpreter provided

5:15-5:30

5:30-5:45

,
We choose our electricity with our own decision: A German Experience

5:45-7:00

Documentary film showing: Thoughts of Shonau ~ Story of German

citizens who inspired the electricity revolution
Das Schnauer Gefhl

3.11

7:00-7:30

Q&A interpreter provided