Historically, Japan has undergone major social change only when it was thrust upon the country from outside - prime examples being after its defeat in World War II and after the arrival of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's warships in 1853 that essentially forced the country to open up to the rest of the world.
Grassroots activism had only limited success. It took nearly 50 years to win compensation for most victims of the chemical company in Minamata, Kumomoto Prefecture, that dumped mercury into the water, causing the rare neurological disorder that came to be known as Minamata disease.
But while the March 11 quake and tsunami also assaulted Japan from offshore, the homegrown disaster that came in their wake - the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant - has prompted a groundswell of activism among an ever-Internet savvy public less inclined to automatically defer to authority and official safety proclamations. (Japan Times)
Historically, Japan has undergone major social change only when it was thrust upon the country from outside - prime examples being after its defeat in World War II and after the arrival of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's warships in 1853 that essentially forced the country to open up to the rest of the world.
Grassroots activism had only limited success. It took nearly 50 years to win compensation for most victims of the chemical company in Minamata, Kumomoto Prefecture, that dumped mercury into the water, causing the rare neurological disorder that came to be known as Minamata disease.
But while the March 11 quake and tsunami also assaulted Japan from offshore, the homegrown disaster that came in their wake - the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant - has prompted a groundswell of activism among an ever-Internet savvy public less inclined to automatically defer to authority and official safety proclamations. (Japan Times)