Department of Music

Abstract:
In this talk, I describe the affective politics at work in the annual Project Fukushima! festival, which, only a few months after the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster on 3.11.11, and each summer since, has brought thousands to sing, dance and make music in Fukushima City. In the wake of massive, unprecedented antinuclear demonstrations in Tokyo — which receded just as suddenly in the wake of pronuclear conservative Abe Shinzo’s election to Prime Minister in December 2012 — what is at stake, and for whom, in performing festival in Fukushima? Recent accounts of Japan’s antinuclear movement have focused on the efficacy (or lack thereof) of national protests demanding the total phase-out of nuclear power. I argue that this characterization fails to acknowledge complex performances of cultural identity that have become deeply integrated into contemporary social activism in post-3.11 Japan, especially regional celebrations which stress the survival and endurance of local communities. Without overt antinuclear themes, Project Fukushima! problematizes the national identification with “hometown culture” in the regional distributions of environmental risk from radiation exposure, and amplifies the inherent noise and confusion of celebrating life in the disaster zone.