It is understood that radiation is physically harmful to those who are exposed to it. However, it is also harmful on a social level. Those who become exposed to radiation form a new class within society, one that is discriminated against and even feared by many ordinary people. This has certainly been the case with the Fukushima nuclear incident. This discrimination is worsened by the government and mainstream media's treatment of the incident. This essay will discuss the social effects of the Fukushima incident by comparing it with the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It will also explain how the media play into this discrimination and attempt to understand why Japanese society is reacting in such a way.
From "the A-bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki" came "a new group of human beings -
hibakusha, literally 'A-bombed persons'".[1]
Hibakusha not only had to deal with radiation sickness and other health-related effects of the bomb(s), but they were also subject to much social discrimination. They lost "educational and professional opportunities", received "discrimination in marriage and in the workplace",[2] and became "targets of bullying".[3] Because they could not get work, they also often found themselves in poverty[4] and many lived in
hibakusha slums, physically separated from the rest of society. This discrimination was due to their perception as 'contaminated'[5]. They were seen as unfit to work and as potentially producing deformed children (a worry which the
hibakusha themselves had to shoulder, with many too afraid to reproduce). But beyond this, there was the fear that contact with hibakusha would result in contamination, perhaps a natural response due to the "still 'mysterious'"[6] nature of radiation. Furthermore, due to its 'invisible' nature, even those who displayed no signs of radiation poisoning were discriminated against in exactly the same way.
Comment: Further reading: