Rebuilding communities following the Great East Japan earthquake through mutual help: Restoration of ties in the radiation-contaminated areas

The earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan on 11 March 2011, not only caused extensive direct damage to local residents but triggered a nuclear power plant accident bringing the terror and reality of radiation. The nuclear disaster inflicted quite another kind of mental and social damage on people in Fukushima. Social care fostering community solidarity is important for the mental rebuilding of resettled people. The hypothesis that mutual help would increase after the disaster does not seem to apply to this study. In addition to mutual help among them, problems of community ties between new and long-term residents were posed. The former was deemed dangerous, facing potential expulsion from the local community (ostracism). “Xenophobia” can be observed even among Japanese people. Rebuilding communities can be done through all residents’ participation. This article summarizes the ongoing community consciousness of evacuees based on the results of questionnaire and interview surveys and explores the possibilities of rebuilding, focusing on how to cope with “social demise of communities” from the viewpoint of mutual help networks based on the social structure. The balanced trinity of public help for reconstructing hometowns, communal help for community empowerment and self-help for self-empowerment is indispensable.