Fukushima Fixation – The Media Focus on Radiation Risk in Tsunami-Stricken Japan

The way in which the possible, nuclear threat from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant looms larger than the devastation and the thousands actually killed by the 'natural' earthquake and tsunami reminds us of Beck's distinction. The problem is more acute in Beck's reading, as we still mistakenly look towards science when it is, in fact, more part of the problem than the solution. Having imposed this dangerous technology on us in the first place, science – in league with government – plays down the risk, with bland assurance of a lack of any evidence of harm. Again, recent Japanese experience resonates, where official reassurance is assumed to be, at best, irrelevant, as the Western media continue their search for nuclear-related harm. As it evolved, the sociological approach merged with and reinforced a precautionary approach to technology that tends to assume and project risk independently of evidence, suggesting that we cannot afford to wait for a cumbersome science to prove the harms that we 'know' lie in wait.