Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster (2011)

Japan’s tragic recent earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster (March 2011) has devastated the landscape of the country, as well as claiming the lives of thousands of people and displacing the homes of many more. So, does it highlight the difficulties that current economic and political models have in their ability to effectively deal with huge geological events.

To break the point down to it’s central core, current models are based upon the generation of wealth and the surety of military defence, so it could be argued that the majority of human activity is directed towards those agendas to such an extent that it excludes sufficient activity to protect against crisis. For example, the choice to build the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which threatens so many lives right now, will undoubtedly have been driven by the greater economic efficiencies of nuclear power over other options. If money were no object, would governments still continue to use volatile and dangerous materials in energy production? Especially in an area described geologically as the ring of fire.

Another good example would be Japan’s defence budget. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Japan was ranked fourth in the world in 2004/2005, spending $42.1 billion on defence (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_budget_of_Japan for more information). When you compare the country’s loss of life to invasion or war to it’s loss of live due to the volatility of plate tectonics in the Pacific Ocean, the numbers just don’t add up.

While there is no taking back the events of the last week for Japan, it is now time to turn to dealing with the issue. Hopefully, economic considerations won’t diminish government aid to those affected by the disaster (although recent criticism from a Japanese governor would seem to indicate its possibility, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12763273 for more details). The other big question will be how much the Japanese government learns from the disaster its people have suffered and what changes it will make to prevent future incidents.