One year after the tsunami that obliterated the Fukushima nuclear reactor site, Japanese are calling into question their reliance on the government, the trust they placed with their leaders and institutions, and how they will deal with the upcoming energy shortage. This past year they have transferred the problem for now by upping their use of expensive oil, now under threat in the Straight of Hormuz.
Many issues have evolved from the disaster last March. The relationship between Japanese people and their government will necessarily be restructured, and I doubt the hands-off approach most of the public has had towards the government and its affairs will last. In a different vein, the environment has taken a severe beating, and these volatile storms have put into sharper perspective the need that humans have to change the way they use and interact with their surroundings. In Japan alone, cleanup from the disaster will take decades and have untold effects on the island nation. Despite this, the economic pressures to reopen the plants as soon as possible are high and have much more weight when it comes to immediate policy.
The issues at stake in the recovery are great, and I think it would be remiss for the Japanese government to ignore the staggering environmental risks that run alongside reopening more of the nuclear plants.