An epidemic of fear

摘要

FUKUSHIMA wasn't just a nuclear disaster. It was also an information disaster. Before the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and meltdown of three nuclear reactors, there was a myth in Japan about how nuclear power was completely safe. Ever since, we have had a new myth: everybody thought Fukushima was a second coming of Chernobyl, and that they would all get cancer. I went to the prefecture to give radiation safety advice. I recognise people's fears about radiation. It is human nature. You can't smell or see or touch it - it is like a ghost. Radiophobia has become a big public health problem. And it is made worse because, especially here in Japan, people have lost trust in experts. I am one of those experts.