The chain of calamities known as Japan’s “triple disaster” occurred on 11 March 2011. Triggered by a massive rupture in the ocean floor, north-eastern Japan faced the terrors of a magnitude-9 earthquake, 15-metre-high tsunami, and major nuclear crisis. When the massive tsunami overwhelmed the cooling systems and all safety precautions at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, there was an unparalleled level-7 nuclear meltdown and release of radioactive materials into the environment in Japan and the Pacific Ocean. To this day, the Daiichi plant continues to release radiation, and radioactive water still leaks from the plant into the sea. This triple disaster caused the deaths of several thousand people, impacted millions across the country, and effectively scarred the environment for decades. Damage calculations from the nuclear disaster alone exceed $25 billion. It is anticipated that Japan will spend several decades, and trillions of yen, attempting to clean up the nuclear mess. The triple disaster’s economic, social, legal, and political consequences have touched not only individuals, families, and communities, but have also altered the outlook on nuclear power both inside of Japan and throughout the world.

Against this backdrop, Nuclear Tsunami is extremely timely and well written. It is rich in content and technical detail regarding the history of nuclear energy in Japan and the Fukushima nuclear crisis. This cutting-edge work details the evolution of nuclear power in Japan from its inception to current times, with an intense focus on the precursors to the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the disaster itself, and the fall-out from the disaster. It also addresses the transparency and accuracy of information (or lack thereof) both before and after the disaster. This book draws on the efforts and insights of legal researchers, scholars, environmental activists, and experts in the nuclear industry.

In essence, the authors set out to thoroughly examine Japan’s recent nuclear disaster both from a historical perspective and within the modern framework. They first detail the historical underpinnings of Japan’s nuclear power movement, the Japanese government’s role in promoting atomic power, and the US’s involvement. They then provide an in-depth review of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, including the roles of TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company), the Japanese government, General Electric, and the US government. From a socio-legal perspective, they also explore the ongoing uncertainties caused by past and continuing harms to property, person, and the environment, both in Japan and around the world. The authors also compare the Fukushima experience to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

This book merits attention from individuals interested in learning more about the history of nuclear energy in Japan and the recent Fukushima nuclear disaster. Nuclear Tsunami enables a greater understanding of Japan’s embrace of atomic policies, the development of its comprehensive nuclear energy programme, and the formation of nuclear strategic alliances with the US and Western Europe. The book establishes a solid foundation with its well-researched historical perspective on Japan’s nuclear energy industry. Despite having weathered two nuclear holocausts (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) and its persistent denunciation of nuclear warfare, Japan embraced national atomic policies and started a nuclear energy programme comparatively quickly after World War II, with the assistance of intelligence operations and propaganda campaigns. This book explains how the post-World War II US occupation helped identify key Japanese political and economic allies who could help appease the nuclear-fearful Japanese citizenry and move forward with a “peaceful” atomic technology programme favourable to US interests—one that would help fight against the Soviet Union’s actual, potential, and aggressive expansion. It also describes appeasement tactics and a massive propaganda campaign employed through the media, television programmes, cartoon characters, and even a US presidential visit, to turn the tide of Japanese public opinion toward atomic energy.

Needing to import over 80% of its energy requirements, Japan’s national strategic priorities essentially shifted to persuading the public of the benefits of nuclear power and aggressively constructing commercial nuclear power reactors in depopulated areas. By 2011, nuclear reactors filled nearly one-third of the country’s appetite for power. In light of the triple disaster, however, this work calls into question the future of nuclear energy in Japan and highlights the shortcomings of the Japanese government and nuclear energy industry in instituting sufficient safety precautions.

This work also deserves consideration from those interested in learning more about Japan’s triple disaster in the context of law and society. Nuclear Tsunami encompasses front-line stories of the ongoing Fukushima nuclear disaster, ranging from local citizens to community facilities to US Navy personnel who rushed into the radiation zone as part of “Operation Tomodachi” to provide support in disaster relief. It looks at potential legal liability and ongoing lawsuits, and addresses the question of whether the disaster was soteigai—namely whether it was beyond the scope of reasonable foreseeability by the potentially responsible actors. In effect, the book provides a brave and bold analysis of the Fukushima disaster, including the negligent conduct of Japanese and US companies in creating conditions that facilitated the nuclear catastrophe, such as the story of three GE nuclear scientists and whistleblowers who resigned from their positions in 1976 because of flawed designs in the type of reactors used at Fukushima.

The book also focuses on the Japanese government’s failure to prevent or mitigate the disaster, and questions who is really in charge. Based on evidence presented in the book, the government knew, or should have known, about the impending dangers involved in allowing nuclear plant construction on a major earthquake fault, failing to employ tsunami experts even after the major Kobe earthquake in 1995, and prioritizing power over public safety, among other things. The authors take issue with the Japanese government’s confused, delayed, and shrouded reaction in dealing with the nuclear crisis. They describe in detail the global debate about nuclear power that ensued as a result of the Fukushima disaster. It is important for the world to understand more about the Fukushima disaster and the societal consequences. Nuclear Tsunami makes a significant contribution to this understanding.