Radioactivity and Boundaries Appeared in Literature after the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

Abstract

More than 10 years have passed since the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, and the subsequent accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. However, the “nuclear emergency declaration” that came out immediately after the accident has not been lifted as of January 2023. Due to the nuclear accident, many people are still evacuating, and it is uncertain when and how the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant will be decommissioned. In this paper, we analyzed through specific works how literature is facing problems such as nuclear accidents and radioactive contamination in this situation. Hitomi Kanehara's The One Who Doesn't Have deals with the issue of fear of radiation exposure and depicts specific aspects of life after Fukushima. Hideo Furukawa's Or a Billion Years of Surah imagines an island=forest isolated from the outside world due to a nuclear accident in the near future, and questions the border of radioactive contamination. Erika Kobayashi's Breakfast with Madame Curie recognizes the invisibility of radiation as a trace of an invisible existence, and connects various time and space related to radioactivity and nuclear power.