Dislocation, Social Isolation, and the Politics of Recovery in Post-Disaster Japan

What happens when temporary shelters become permanent homes? What are the psychosocial impacts of prolonged dislocation, and how might these effects be mitigated through grassroots community activities? Based on fieldwork and interviews with residents in temporary housing and volunteer support groups in northeastern Japan conducted from 2014–2018, this article analyzes the ongoing challenges of delayed recovery, chronic dislocation, and social isolation among survivors of the March 11, 2011 disaster in Japan, with a particular focus on the residents of temporary facilities in Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture. I examine how the complexity of the disaster-recovery process within the local politics of the region has produced new tensions, creating a particular “zoned liminality” for displaced residents while undermining the social nexus of community relations. Then I reflect on certain challenges in treating the psychosocial trauma among survivors, and how their particular needs are addressed through new citizen-based volunteer movements offering holistic activities. These grassroots activities do not necessarily solve the breakdown of social bonds nor improve residents’ prospects of returning home. However, by alleviating survivors’ sense of social isolation and loneliness, this “humanistic” approach highlights the possibilities of participatory-style psychosocial support that goes beyond conventional biomedical services and top-down, state-driven policies.