IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v11y2014i9p9286-9305d40029.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Radiation-Driven Migration: The Case of Minamisoma City, Fukushima, Japan, after the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

Author

Listed:
  • Hui Zhang

    (School of Urban Culture, South China Normal University, Nanhai, Foshan 528225, China
    Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, 5322 Endo Fujisawa, Kanagawa 252-0882, Japan)

  • Wanglin Yan

    (Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, 5322 Endo Fujisawa, Kanagawa 252-0882, Japan)

  • Akihiro Oba

    (Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, 5322 Endo Fujisawa, Kanagawa 252-0882, Japan)

  • Wei Zhang

    (College of Public Administration, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China)

Abstract

The emigration of residents following the Fukushima nuclear accident has resulted in aging and depopulation problems in radiation-contaminated areas. The recovery of affected areas, and even those areas with low radioactive pollution levels, is still heavily affected by this problem. This slow recovery consequently affects immigration patterns. This review aims to present possible factors that have contributed to this dilemma. We first present an overview of the evacuation protocol that was administered in the study area following the Fukushima accident. We then analyze characteristics of the subsequent exodus by comparing population data for both before and after the accident. Based on the findings of existing literature, we identify three causes of emigration: (1) The health risks of living in a low radiation zone are still unknown; (2) The post-disaster psychological disturbance and distrust of government information promotes the emigration of evacuees; (3) an absence of economic vitality and of a leading industry renders the area less attractive to individuals residing outside of the city. Further research is needed on this issue, especially with respect to countermeasures for addressing this problem.

Suggested Citation

  • Hui Zhang & Wanglin Yan & Akihiro Oba & Wei Zhang, 2014. "Radiation-Driven Migration: The Case of Minamisoma City, Fukushima, Japan, after the Fukushima Nuclear Accident," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-20, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:11:y:2014:i:9:p:9286-9305:d:40029
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/11/9/9286/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/11/9/9286/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Geoff Brumfiel, 2013. "Fukushima: Fallout of fear," Nature, Nature, vol. 493(7432), pages 290-293, January.
    2. Jacob Vigdor, 2008. "The Economic Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(4), pages 135-154, Fall.
    3. Craig E. Landry & Okmyung Bin & Paul Hindsley & John C. Whitehead & Kenneth Wilson, 2007. "Going Home: Evacuation-Migration Decisions of Hurrican Katrina Survivors," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 74(2), pages 326-343, October.
    4. Craig E. Landry & Okmyung Bin & Paul Hindsley & John C. Whitehead & Kenneth Wilson, 2007. "Going Home: Evacuation‐Migration Decisions of Hurricane Katrina Survivors," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 74(2), pages 326-343, October.
    5. Richard E. Adams & Lin T. Guey & Semyon F. Gluzman & Evelyn J. Bromet, 2011. "Psychological well-being and risk perceptions of mothers in Kyiv, Ukraine, 19 years after the Chornobyl disaster," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 57(6), pages 637-645, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Qin Fan & Meri Davlasheridze, 2019. "Economic Impacts Of Migration And Brain Drain After Major Catastrophe: The Case Of Hurricane Katrina," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 10(01), pages 1-21, February.
    2. Johar, Meliyanni & Johnston, David W. & Shields, Michael A. & Siminski, Peter & Stavrunova, Olena, 2022. "The economic impacts of direct natural disaster exposure," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 26-39.
    3. Jeffrey A. Groen & Anne E. Polivka, 2009. "Going Home after Hurricane Katrina: Determinants of Return Migration and Changes in Affected Areas," Working Papers 428, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    4. Vicki Marion Bier, 2017. "Understanding and Mitigating the Impacts of Massive Relocations Due to Disasters," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 179-202, July.
    5. Ivan Petkov, 2022. "Weather Shocks, Population, and Housing Prices: the Role of Expectation Revisions," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 495-540, November.
    6. Richard J. Cebula & J.R. Clark, 2011. "Migration, Economic Freedom, and Personal Freedom: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 27(Fall 2011), pages 43-62.
    7. Alistair Munro & Shunsuke Managi, 2017. "Going Back: Radiation and Intentions to Return amongst Households Evacuated after the Great Tohoku Earthquake," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 77-93, June.
    8. Laura A. Bakkensen & Xiaozhou Ding & Lala Ma, 2019. "Flood Risk and Salience: New Evidence from the Sunshine State," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(4), pages 1132-1158, April.
    9. Abbie A. Rogers & Fiona L. Dempster & Jacob I. Hawkins & Robert J. Johnston & Peter C. Boxall & John Rolfe & Marit E. Kragt & Michael P. Burton & David J. Pannell, 2019. "Valuing non-market economic impacts from natural hazards," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 99(2), pages 1131-1161, November.
    10. Mavisakalyan, Astghik & Otrachshenko, Vladimir & Popova, Olga, 2024. "Natural Disasters and Acceptance of Intimate Partner Violence: The Global Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 17172, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Barbieri, Stefano & Edwards, John H.Y., 2017. "Middle-class flight from post-Katrina New Orleans: A theoretical analysis of inequality and schooling," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 12-29.
    12. Laura Siebeneck & Michael Lindell & Carla Prater & Hao-Che Wu & Shih-Kai Huang, 2013. "Evacuees’ reentry concerns and experiences in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 65(3), pages 2267-2286, February.
    13. Thompson Mark A, 2009. "Hurricane Katrina and Economic Loss: An Alternative Measure of Economic Activity," Journal of Business Valuation and Economic Loss Analysis, De Gruyter, vol. 4(2), pages 1-11, April.
    14. Diana Alwis, 2020. "Distributional Impacts of Disaster Recovery: Sri Lankan Households a Decade after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 195-222, April.
    15. De Alwis, Diana, 2018. "Distributional impacts of disaster recovery: Sri Lankan households a decade after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami," Working Paper Series 20321, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.
    16. Meri Davlasheridze & Qin Fan, 2017. "Household Adjustments to Hurricane Katrina," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 47(1), pages 92-112, Winter.
    17. Anamaria Bukvic, 2015. "Integrated framework for the Relocation Potential Assessment of Coastal Communities (RPACC): application to Hurricane Sandy-affected areas," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 264-278, June.
    18. Daniel Felsenstein & Michal Lichter, 2014. "Social and economic vulnerability of coastal communities to sea-level rise and extreme flooding," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 71(1), pages 463-491, March.
    19. Narayan Sastry & Jesse Gregory, 2014. "The Location of Displaced New Orleans Residents in the Year After Hurricane Katrina," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(3), pages 753-775, June.
    20. Morteza Chalak & Veronique Florec & Atakelty Hailu & Fiona Gibson & David Pannell, 2017. "Integrating non-market values in economic analyses of flood mitigation: a case study of the Brown Hill and Keswick creeks catchment in Adelaide," Working Papers 256513, University of Western Australia, School of Agricultural and Resource Economics.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:11:y:2014:i:9:p:9286-9305:d:40029. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.