Nonscalability of “citizen science” in post-Fukushima Japan: Unpacking articulations of citizen radiation measuring organizations

This article explores and discusses understandings of citizen science with members of Japanese citizen radiation measuring organizations who began measuring radioactive contamination in food, soil, air, and human bodies after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident. Building on in-depth interviews with organization members and extensive multi-site fieldwork (2018, 2020), the article takes shimin kagaku (citizen science in Japanese) to examine articulations of citizenship and science, while discussing citizen radiation measuring organization activities. Adopting Tsing’s notion of nonscalability, it draws attention to the manifold articulations of citizenship and science, unearthing frictions embedded in Japanese science–society relations. In this way, this article outlines the diversity of notions of citizenship and science, and of citizen participatory practices in science. By bringing nonscalability to bear on an analysis of different articulations of shimin kagaku, this article encourages scientists and public authorities to engage with citizen participatory practices reflexively and responsibly by considering local articulations and knowledges.

Learning from the Earthquake Nation: Japanese Science Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century

Earthquake sciences, such as seismology and earthquake engineering, were important for Japanese science diplomacy throughout the twentieth century and remain relevant for Japan’s science diplomacy initiatives today. This article traces how the earthquake sciences were constructed as a ‘Japanese science’, giving Japan authority in science diplomacy, what science diplomacy practices scientists engaged in, and the images of Japan they helped to convey internationally. In the late nineteenth century, Japan played a crucial role in establishing seismology as a scientific discipline, which supported claims of Japanese research experience with their highly seismically active environment. Thus, Japanese earthquake specialists were enabled to act on equal terms with their Western counterparts in international networks, and even became regarded as ‘teachers’ of earthquake-proof construction. This image that was built and expanded upon by generations of scientists and maintained regardless of the shifting political climate. Consequently, prewar science diplomacy served to justify ‘civilised’ Japanese colonial rule in East Asia, while postwar earthquake science underlined Japan’s new identity as a peaceful ‘developed’ country and became a crucial part of Japan’s developmental aid programs. Science diplomacy also helped open diplomatic channels for Japan during difficult international conditions and created sustainable networks between seismic countries.

How are research data governed at Japanese repositories? A knowledge commons perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to survey how research data are governed at repositories in Japan by deductively establishing a governance typology based on the concept of openness in the context of knowledge commons and empirically assessing the conformity of repositories to each type.Design/methodology/approachThe fuzzy-set ideal type analysis (FSITA) was adopted. For data collection, a manual assessment was conducted with all Japanese research data repositories registered on re3data.org.FindingsThe typology constructed in this paper consists of three dimensions: openness to resources (here equal to research data), openness to a community and openness to infrastructure provision. This paper found that there is no case where all dimensions are open, and there are several cases where the resources are closed despite research data repositories being positioned as a basis for open science in Japanese science and technology policy.Originality/valueThis is likely the first construction of the typology and application of FSITA to the study of research data governance based on knowledge commons. The findings of this paper provide practitioners insight into how to govern research data at repositories. The typology serves as a first step for future research on knowledge commons, for example, as a criterion of case selection in conducting in-depth case studies.

Creating opportunities to discuss the nature of Japanese science communication

Build SciComm, an international symposium on strategies for fostering science communication in Japan held at the University of Tsukuba in November 2019, brought together academics and practitioners to discuss issues faced by the field in Japan and vision for future direction. Informally, the symposium was well received and generally considered to be a useful and stimulating event. We discuss issues to be considered for future incarnations and explain why this symposium provides an important forum for inclusive discussions on fundamental questions about the nature of science communication in Japan.