Technology Gatekeepers for War and Peace

Matsumoto, Miwao

doi:10.1057/9780230504172

Cited by 12 publications

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“…58 As for the detailed analysis of this pitfall with particular reference to a complex relationship between renewable energy development and global environmental problems, see Matsumoto (2005). For an account which considers beyond the success or failure dichotomy, also see Matsumoto (2006), Chap. 6 Conclusion: Beyond Success or Failure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Decision-making Processes in Local Contexts: An STS Case Study on Nuclear Power Plant Siting in Japan

2007

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This is an STS case study of the social decision-making process on the siting of a nuclear power plant in Japan, from the point of view of a sociological case analysis. Energy technologies are critically important for industrial society but often trigger serious disputes through the R&D phase and the phase involving introduction into society. Nuclear power technology especially has provoked a lot of conflicts all over the world. By focusing on serious trust issues among decision-making processes and stakeholders, we found very interesting consequences and/or results of participatory social decision-making process in nuclear issues. As an example, we take up the case of a local referendum in the siting area (Maki-machi town, Niigata prefecture of Japan) and describe and analyze it to highlight the critical sociological factors involved in the application of participatory methods in social decisionmaking processes regarding technological issues. Through this description and analysis, we would like to emphasize the effects of the complicated and subtle structure of local context on the consequence of local decision-making processes. We then propose a concept, "relevant marginal actor," to clarify which actors play critical roles in the whole local decision-making process in which controversial technological issues are framed, and reframed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Decision-making Processes in Local Contexts: An STS Case Study on Nuclear Power Plant Siting in Japan

2007

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“…As a result, the schedule for identifying the cause, which was originally expected to be completed in November 1940, was extended to mid-1943. 24 Thus it is probable that all of Japan's naval vessels had turbines which were imperfect for some unknown reason when the country went to war with the U.S. and Britain in 1941. What, then, was the true cause for the accident?…”

Section: The Hidden Accident and The Outbreak Of War With The Us Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

The “Structural Disaster” of the Science-Technology-Society Interface

Matsumoto

2014

Reflections on the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident

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This chapter attempts to shed fresh light on the structural causes of the Fukushima accident by illuminating the patterns of behavior of the agents involved in a little-known but serious accident that occurred immediately before World War II. Despite the expected incalculable damages caused by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, critical information was restricted to government insiders. This state of affairs reminds us of the state of prewar Japanese wartime mobilization in which all information was controlled under the name of supreme governmental authority. This paper argues that we can take the comparison more seriously as far as the patterns of behavior of the agents involved are concerned. The key concept that is employed for that argument is the "structural disaster" of the science-technology-society interface, the causes of which can be divided into two different categories, organizational errors and technological trajectory. Through the lens of "structural disaster", the possibility of functional disintegration coupled with structural interdependence and secrecy is drawn for investigation relevant both in wartime and in peacetime. This paper will contextualize the sociological implications of the possibility for all of us who face the post-Fukushima situation based on exploration into the hidden prewar accident with particular focus on a subtle relationship between success and failure.

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Technology Gatekeepers for War and Peace

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

Social Decision-making Processes in Local Contexts: An STS Case Study on Nuclear Power Plant Siting in Japan

Social Decision-making Processes in Local Contexts: An STS Case Study on Nuclear Power Plant Siting in Japan

The “Structural Disaster” of the Science-Technology-Society Interface

Theoretical Challenges for the Current Sociology of Science and Technology: A Prospect for Its Future Development

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