A landmark study, Fukushima Fiction explores literary responses to the triple disasters of the earthquake, tsunami, and the meltdowns at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011, now dubbed 3/11. Rachel DiNitto draws on her wide-ranging reading in Japanese fiction and commentary, disaster literature from Japan and abroad, and humanities and social science research. Her approach is sophisticated yet accessible, and her topic, all too timely. As the pandemic has shown us, the world can change radically and unexpectedly, impacting some much more than others, giving rise to strife and misinformation, but leaving no easy escape for anyone.
What is Fukushima fiction and why does it matter? In her introduction, DiNitto explains how the term encompasses responses to all three disasters collectively (and euphemistically) known as the “Great Eastern Japan Earthquake Disaster” (Higashi Nihon daishinsai). Most stories were written within a year of the disaster, and largely...
