ABSTRACT
This chapter develops comparative case studies of the responses to Fukushima of three states with significant engagement in nuclear energy: China, Germany and the United States. It draws out the 'push' and 'pull' factors and agencies active in the nuclear energy policy reactions of each, and in the process to formulate possible and probable global response typologies based on degrees of similarity and divergence which are apparent in comparable polities and economies. A comprehensive assessment by international experts on the health risks associated with the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) disaster in Japan has concluded that, for the general population inside and outside of Japan, the predicted risks are low and no observable increases in cancer rates above baseline rates are anticipated. As its economic development continues, even in turbulent economic times, to outpace all of the world's large economies, China is now widely acknowledged as the current global leader in nuclear power reactor development.
