The Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident [chapter]

Akira Akabayashi
2020 Bioethics Across the Globe  
The Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011 caused a massive tsunami that led to the nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. This horrific accident revealed many systemic flaws, including a weak government program for emergency crisis management, non-transparency within governmental information control, and unscientific approaches to epidemiological research and government funding policy. Following World War II, Japan prioritized economic recovery over many other
more » ... ngs, including preparation for severe natural disasters. My aim is to show how the government handled these emergencies and issues related to research ethics. I will address and criticize the non-transparency of the government's evacuation policy, the secretive position taken by researchers and the government, and the unethical epidemiological research studies conducted under the guise of health surveillance, in particular, child thyroid screening.
doi:10.1007/978-981-15-3572-7_6 fatcat:bnkizmaxibcmfmyv33t56blqv4