Woman with young children in Fukushima after the nuclear accident: an analysis of their role in the social context

Abstract

The differences in risk perception between women and men regarding the health effects of radiation following nuclear disasters are well documented. In particular, after the 2011 Fukushima accident, mothers with young children exhibited higher levels of risk perception and a greater tendency toward prolonged depression. However, the broader social context underlying women’s heightened depressive symptoms has received little attention. To address this gap, this study analysed the publicly available 2014 records of the International Commission on Radiological Protection Fukushima Dialogue—a stakeholder meeting held in Fukushima Prefecture—focusing on discussions about child-rearing and the dynamics of participant interaction. The analysis revealed that women with young children in Fukushima were subject to strong normative expectations. While these expectations were often experienced as a burden, the women also internalised them and took on the responsibility of motherhood as their own. Such expectations simultaneously constrained women’s capacity for independent social action and demanded that they protect their children from radiation exposure. This contradiction—being expected to meet both demands at once—constitutes a double bind. The findings indicate that, in the aftermath of the accident, women with young children in Fukushima were indeed caught in such a situation, shaped by the prevailing social context.