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Abstract

Vol. 69, No. 1, pp. 55-74 (2018)

“Forced Evacuation and Social Isolation in Fukushima”
Masahiro Shoji (Faculty of Economics, Seijo University), Takayuki Akaike (Iwaki Liaison Council to Support the Disaster-Victims of 3.11)

This study examines determinants of forced evacuation, and the changes in social isolation in forced evacuees, from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. Using a unique survey conducted in temporary housing in Iwaki city, we find that around 30% of the evacuees did not have conversations with anyone in the housing and 60% could not call for help when they moved to the housing. Further, 5% did not have conversations even 2.5 years after the accident. The isolated evacuees can be classified into two types: those who had been persistently isolated since moving, such as young, introverted, and self-interested evacuees, and those who could not form a personal network in the evacuation site, like male and jobless evacuees. The poor network formation of males was aggravated in large-scale housing located near downtown.