Discussion
On March 21th 2023, No.274 Japan Specialist Seminar was held in GSIS (Bldg 140) GL Room in hybrid format. With 16 participants on spot and 20 participants online, Professor Junichi Isomae from International Research Center for Japanese Studies gave a talk titled Around Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the Voice of the Untranslatable is Heard: Postwar Japanese Democracy and its Consequences.
(フクシマ第一原発周辺で、翻訳不能なものの声を聴く─戦後日本の民主主義とその帰結). The below is the summary.
The presenter first explained the anthropologist Talal Assad's concept of 'untranslatable'. Subsequently, the voices from Fukushima were presented in detail by the Museum of East Tokyo Earthquake and Nuclear Power, the Tokyo Electric Power Discontinuance Data Center, and interviews with the local. In addition, with the German film (2016) the presenter explained how the spirit of the soul, not the human form, is possible.
After the presentation, questions and answers followed. There was a question about the forgetfulness of the damaged memory and the possibility of solving it. The presenter explained the concept of oppression and denial in psychoanalysis, answering that it is impossible to forget. In addition, he emphasized the need for a process of acceptance over a long period of time.
In addition, the seminar was concluded after discussions on the maintenance of nuclear power plants, expectations for technology, discriminatory remarks about people remaining in Fukushima, untranslatable, and authentic narrative.
