Strong bonds: Companion animals in post-Tsunami Japan

Abstract

This paper reports on the experiences of pet owners in Northeast Japan who were displaced by a large tsunami in March 2011. It comments on the rapid increase in pet ownership in the 1990s, and argues that a shift in attitudes regarding the role of pets in Japanese society may put Japan on a trajectory found in many other Western societies. At the same time, the paper argues that forces associated with a resurgent nationalism slow that transition conflict with the liberalizing influences associated with globalization. A part of this chapter first appeared in Kajiwara (2016) and was supported by the Uehiro Foundation on Ethics and Education.