This book explores how Japanese views of nuclear power were influenced not only by Hiroshima and Nagasaki but by government, business and media efforts to actively promote how it was a safe and integral part of Japan’s future. The idea of “atoms for peace” and the importance of US-Japan relations were emphasized in exhibitions and in films. Despite the emergence of an anti-nuclear movement, the dream of civilian nuclear power and the “good atom” nevertheless prevailed and became more accepted. By the late 1950s, a school trip to see a reactor was becoming a reality for young Japanese, and major events such as the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and 1970 Osaka Expo seemed to reinforce the narrative that the Japanese people were destined for a future led by science and technology that was powered by the atom, a dream that was left in disarray after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.
Table of Content
1. Introduction: Visualizing Nuclear Power in Japan.- 2. Before and After Hiroshima.- 3. Picturing Hiroshima.- 4. The Beginnings of Atoms for Peace in Japan.- 5. Nuclear Testing in the Pacific: The Lucky Dragon Incident and the Family of Man.- 6. Living in Fear: Nuclear Films.- 7. Making Atomic Dreams Real: 1956-1958.- 8. Seeing Reactors at Tōkai-mura, Trade Fairs, Department Stores and in Films: 1957-1971.- 9. Shaping the National Narrative: From Hiroshima to Fukushima and Beyond.- 10. Conclusion.
About the author
Dr. Morris Low is Associate Professor of Japanese History at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
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