2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Coming back home: An examination of the importance of community in recovering from disaster in Shinchimachi, Fukushima

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	16K12382
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Research Field	震災問題と人文学・社会科学
Research Institution	International Christian University
Principal Investigator	Jung Joo-Young 国際基督教大学, 教養学部, 教授 (40552336)
Project Period (FY)	2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
Keywords	Communication / Media / local community / Fukushima / Disaster / Stigma / Resilience
Outline of Final Research Achievements	This study was established based on the proposition that residents’ connections to their community are one of the important factors in the post-disaster recovery. Interview and survey research was conducted in six towns in Fukushima as well as an online survey conducted across the Fukushima Prefecture. Six publications and six conference presentations were derived from the project. The study found that Fukushima residents perceived newly created stigma associated with the Fukushima Nuclear Accident from the mainstream media and interpersonal contacts. Based on communication infrastructure theory, the study found that residents' connectedness to neighbors, community organizations and local media had a positive influence on their resilience. Overall, the study findings implicate that utilizing and facilitating resident's connectedness to their neighborhood storytelling network is a sustainable and effective way to help Fukushima residents adjust to post-disater Fukushima.
Free Research Field	Communication and Media
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	1. Enhancement of communication infrastructure theory to include relationships between macro- and meso/micro-level storytellers. 2. A proposition of future outlook as an outcome factor of neighborhood storytelling networks 3. One of the few studies that represent Fukushima residents' perspectives.