The Contemporary Japan Group at the Institute of Social Science (ISS, or Shaken), University of Tokyo, welcomes you to a lecture by Dr. Carola Hommerich, Senior Research Fellow, German Institute for Japanese Studies
(DIJ) Tokyo

Coping With Disaster: Trust and Subjective Well-being after 3/11

Thursday, Thursday, July 12 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Akamon Sōgō Kenkyūtō Room 549, Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo, Hongo Campus, University of Tokyo.

ABSTRACT
In the aftermath of the 3/11 disaster, an apparent strengthening of social bonds (kizuna) gained much attention in public discourse. Discontent with the way the Japanese government handled the disaster was an equally big topic, suggesting that trust in political institutions had weakened.
To analyse whether such predictions hold true, I will compare data from 2009 to a postal survey carried out in the Tohoku and Kanto regions in September 2011, and explore differences in trust in governmental institutions and social networks by regional proximity to the disaster area, as well as by personal affliction.
Next, I will take a look at the implications of trust resources for subjective well-being, which previous research has shown to function as an indicator for individual resilience.
Bringing both parts of my analysis together, I will try to identify groups according to their abilities to cope with the consequences of the March 11 disaster.
Responses to an open-answer question about “hope”
(kibō) are used to emphasize the different outlooks on the future these groups hold.

SPEAKER
Dr. Carola Hommerich is a Senior Research Fellow at the German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ) Tokyo, where she studies happiness and social inequality in Japan. She is also a part-time lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences of Hitotsubashi University. In 2008, she received her PhD in Sociology from University of Cologne, comparing work values of non-regular employees in Germany and Japan. Since then, her work has focused on the influence of an individual’s perception of his or her objective living circumstances. Recent publications include “The advent of vulnerability:
Japan’s free fall through its porous safety net”, in Japan Forum (2012); and “Trust and Subjective Well-being after 3/11”, in International Journal of Japanese Sociology (2012).

Contemporary Japan Group
The ISS Contemporary Japan Group provides English-speaking residents of the Tokyo area with an opportunity to hear cutting-edge research in social science and related policy issues, as well as a venue for researchers and professionals in or visiting Tokyo to present and receive knowledgeable feedback on their latest research projects. Admission is free and advance registration is not required. Everyone is welcome.
For more information, please visit our website:
http://web.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/cjg/ or contact Gregory W.
NOBLE (noble[at]iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp) or ISHIDA Hiroshi
(ishida[at]iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp)