Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

Abstract:This presentation will focus on rensai (serial columns) in local Japanese newspapers. I will introduce previous work outlining rensai as a form of 'revitalization journalism,' a journalism that seeks to support its host area through newspaper content. Rensai are also seen in the post-3.11 Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster. I will introduce the rensai of three disaster-area newspapers: the Fukushima Minpō, the Kahoku Shimpō (Miyagi) and the Tōōnippō (Aomori). These three newspapers each present a different set of rensai relating to the disaster, reflecting the specific issues of the areas. The Aomori newspaper, however, also presents an interesting case: a rensai that functions to present not just of the news of the disaster, but to educate the reader on important background that will influence the future preparation against disasters. Finally, I will introduce a rensai that functions as a mechanism for the creation of social memory regarding the disaster.