Lessons from Japan: Resilience after Tokyo and Fukushima

Abstract

In the spring of 1995 Japan experienced the world's first major terrorist attack using chemical weapons by a little-known religious cult called Aum Shinrikyo. The attack on the Tokyo subway, which killed 13 people, was the first lethal case of a non-state actor using a chemical agent against a civilian population. In March 2011, following a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor experienced a full meltdown releasing radiation into the surrounding area. The seemingly unhurried government reaction provided conflicting information to Japanese citizens, slowing evacuation and protective actions. Government failure is cited as a significant factor in the severity of the nuclear disaster in three investigations conducted after the incident. This article defines resilience and raises the question of whether the U.S. government has the ability to address the issues raised by the two case studies. There are four primary lessons of these two case studies from Japan: Trust is essential; two-way communications are vital; someone or something will always unexpectedly fail to act appropriately, while others will provide surprising support and; finally, recovery is long-term.