Fukushima nuclear disaster – implications for Japanese agriculture and food chains

Bachev, Hrabrin and Ito, Fusao (2013): Fukushima nuclear disaster – implications for Japanese agriculture and food chains.

Abstract

There are few publications on various impacts of Fukushima nuclear disaster on agri-food sector in Japan in English. Moreover, due to the scale of contamination and affected agents, impact’s multiplicities and evolution, spillovers, and long time horizon, and the lack of “full” information and models of analysis, the overall impacts of Fukushima disaster on agrarian and food sector is far from being completely evaluated. This paper tries to fill the gap and assesses diverse impacts of Fukushima nuclear disaster on Japanese agriculture and food chains. First, a framework of analysis is presented. Second, immediate and short-term radiation effects, and effects on nearby population, safety regulation and inspection system, markets and consumer’s behavior, agrarian and food products, and health, as well as economic impacts on farming and agri-businesses, are all assessed. Third, overall shorter and longer-term impacts on agriculture, food industries, and consumers in Fukushima region, neighboring regions, and other parts of Japan are estimated.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Fukushima disaster, impacts, agriculture, food chains, Japan
• Subjects: Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q15 - Land Ownership and Tenure ; Land Reform ; Land Use ; Irrigation ; Agriculture and Environment; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q17 - Agriculture in International Trade; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q2 - Renewable Resources and Conservation; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R2 - Household Analysis > R23 - Regional Migration ; Regional Labor Markets ; Population ; Neighborhood Characteristics

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