The Ecologist: Fukushima: The Social Impacts Of A Nuclear Disaster
EDIT
The prevalent trend during the pre-quake years, brought about primarily by lack of economic development in local communities, had been for young people to leave their villages to seek higher-paid jobs in the larger towns and cities, only returning home for holidays and other celebrations.The immediate consequence of this has been the decline of village communities. The longer-term consequence will be the erosion of regional identity, at a time when, more than ever, communities affected by the earthquake need their younger generation.
The March disaster divided families. Mothers and children were forced to move to towns and cities, sometimes 200 - 300 miles away, where securing basic day-to-day services is easier than in their earthquake-stricken communities.
Fathers, many bound by loyalty to their families and too, by the need to meet financial commitments, including repaying mortgages on homes that have been destroyed, have remained behind in their villages. Survivors of the disaster have spent on average five months in government-provided temporary shelters. Temporary accommodation was allocated in a lottery deemed the fairest way of distributing accommodation. Many have found themselves unable to face this additional upheaval compounding the fragmenting of communities, brought about by the failure of governmental officials to consider keeping people from the same area together. For others, tracing and finding other survivors from their locales has been crucial to ensuring togetherness and stability. To this end, a group of people have joined in putting down a fifty per cent deposit on their temporary accommodation to ensure they have more say in how the buildings were built.
In Japan reliance on government leadership and guidance has always been great. Since the disaster there has been a loss of faith in information received from the government, and in its ability to respond satisfactorily. Criticism has driven groups of people to take the lead in problem solving. How long families and communities will continue living in temporary accommodation is still unclear. Most worrying are the long-term effects, especially the loss of regional traditions and cultures. Nevertheless, despite the many challenges facing villages affected by the earthquake, there have been inspirational stories of how local communities are being brought together again.
EDIT
http://www.theecologist.org/blogs_and_comments/commentators/other_comments/1240157/fukushima_the_social_impact_of_a_nuclear_disaster.html