ABSTRACT
The meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors in 2011 marked the political awakening of some apathetic people in Japan, causing the largest social movement mobilisation since the 1960s. Based on my interview research of the post-Fukushima anti-nuclear movement in Tokyo, this chapter examines the people’s motivation for political engagement. One of the strongest factors that incited the protesters was the sense of regret that their indifference to society allowed the catastrophe to happen. The protesters found that they cannot disconnect themselves from society, and that non-commitment is actually the worst form of commitment. While this sense of regret provides a strong sense of responsibility for political engagement, the chapter also points out that the protesters do not express it as the obligation towards the other. Rather, they take action ‘for themselves’ as the participation makes them feel proud and fulfilled. Their sense of agency is ‘dissolved’ in the movement and their desire has become indiscernible with that of others. It implies a possible ethico-political practice driven by one’s own emotions and desires.
