Fukushima

Everybody remembers the imagery of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster of 2011: the tsunami, the wrecked plant, the victims, politicians discussing the aftermath. In 2023, Fukushima was back in the news: Japan began the gradual discharge of treated plant water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. Instagram quickly became a space where private users as well as institutions shared concerns, reactions, interpretations and feelings about this decision. The topic was and still is emotionally and politically charged.

But when I started scrolling through these posts, I noticed something interesting: I expected strong emotional language. But people mostly don’t say “I am furious” or “this makes me anxious”. And still, I could feel the emotions on … ↪