Samuels, Richard J. 3.11: Disaster and Change in Japan. Cornell Univ. 2013. 296p.

摘要

Samuels (political science, MIT; Secur- ing Japan: Tokyo's Grand Strategy and the Future of East Asia) draws on a lifetime of experience researching Japan's politics and local government, military and energy policy, and political leadership and economy to craft a definitive political account of the country's response to the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accidents of March 11, 2011. In a narrative organized around the themes of vulnerability, leadership, community, and change, Samuels emphasizes how institutions of Japanese government and society shaped the disaster response. He shows how political actors seized these natural and manmade disasters as opportunities to reverse Japan's extended economic decline. The book includes historical background on Japan's response to earlier earthquakes and in-depth examinations of national security, energy policy, and local government. In contrast to Gerard K. Sutton and Joseph A. Cassal-li's Catastrophe in Japan: The Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011, which takes an economic perspective on the impacts of the events on Japan's international trade, this book turns its focus inward toward Japan's political response at all levels of government. VERDICT Recommended for readers interested in Asian studies, comparative politics, and disaster response.