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This paper evaluates how geographical theories of scale can give a more robust understanding of the governance of complex environmental risks. We assess the case of fisheries in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture in Japan following the 2011 nuclear disaster. Fisheries in Iwaki and Fukushima more widely are operating on a trial basis as understanding of the marine radiation situation becomes clearer, however questions remain over whether consumers will buy produce and to what extent full-scale fisheries will resume. Based on empirical fieldwork undertaken in Fukushima plus supporting documentary analysis, we construct a scalar account of post-disaster Iwaki fisheries. We use this to argue that framing post-disaster fisheries governance at the municipal scale rather than the prefectural scale has opened up opportunities for enacting the more two-way forms of risk governance that contemporary environmental issues may require. We also argue locally-situated ‘experts’ (e.g. fisheries extension officers and citizen science groups) play a key role in negotiating citizens’ and fishers’ relationships with larger-scale scientific discourses due to their ability to work across scales, despite having less techno-scientific expertise than their national-level counterparts. In turn, we suggest that in governance of complex environmental issues, policymakers ought to (a) consider how community-level expectations may differ from risk governance processes developed at larger scales; (b) identify key institutions or figures who can work across scales and support them accordingly; and (c) show cognisance to the social effects that may arise from spatial demarcation of environmental problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Only three days after the beginning of the nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima, Japan, on 11 March 2011, the German government ordered 8 of the country''s 17 existing nuclear power plants (NPPs) to stop operating within a few days. In summer 2011 the government put forward a law – passed in parliament by a large majority – that calls for a complete nuclear phase-out by the end of 2022. These government actions were in contrast to its initial plans, laid out in fall 2010, to expand the lifetimes of the country''s NPPs. The immediate closure of 8 NPPs and the plans for a complete nuclear phase-out within little more than a decade, raised concerns about Germany''s ability to secure a stable supply of electricity. Some observers feared power supply shortages, increasing CO2-emissions and a need for Germany to become a net importer of electricity. Now – a little more than a year after the phase-out law entered into force – this paper examines these concerns using (a) recent statistical data on electricity production and demand in the first 15 months after the German government''s immediate reaction to the Fukushima accident and (b) reviews the most recent projections and scenarios by different stakeholders on how the German electricity system may develop until 2025, when NPPs will no longer be in operation. The paper finds that Germany has a realistic chance of fully replacing nuclear power with additional renewable electricity generation on an annual basis by 2025 or earlier, provided that several related challenges, e.g. expansion of the grids and provision of balancing power, can be solved successfully. Already in 2012 additional electricity generation from renewable energy sources in combination with a reduced domestic demand for electricity will likely fully compensate for the reduced power generation from the NPPs shut down in March 2011. If current political targets will be realised, Germany neither has to become a net electricity importer, nor will be unable to gradually reduce fossil fuel generated electricity. Whether the reduction in fossil fuel use will be sufficient to adequately contribute to national greenhouse gas mitigation targets significantly depends on an active policy to promote electricity savings, continuous efforts to increase the use of renewables and a higher share of natural gas (preferably used in combined heat and power plants) in fossil fuel power generation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The impact of the Fukushima accident on the nuclear fuel cycle back-end is obvious. In the present paper the various back-end options and their impact on the environment will be presented in view of this new perspective. The partitioning and transmutation (P&T) concept and the direct disposal of nuclear fuel including a very long intermediate storage will certainly be revisited with respect to safety considerations; here the instant release fraction (IRF) and the long-term stability of the fuel matrix under real repository conditions are highly relevant. Furthermore the impact of released radionuclides to the environment will have a higher attention. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite bringing many external benefits, economic growth has not solved all problems. In Japan today two problems seem to stand out: an aging population and the need to protect the population from natural disasters. The first problem has long been noted but the population is aging so fast that society seems incapable of adjusting properly to the new situation. Japan experienced a huge earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011 that took more than 21,000 lives and destroyed tens of thousands of homes. The disaster also damaged the nuclear power plant in Fukushima. As a result, tens of thousands more people have been forced from their homes to live in refugee camps outside the contaminated areas. These events have caused a reassessment of the issue of disaster safety. The two problems mentioned above appear to be separate issues, but are in fact closely related. For example, the majority of the victims of the recent natural disaster were elderly and we have not built a system to improve their situation. This paper discusses transport policies for future generations in Japan in connection with the problems above. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]