The Heterotopia of Disaster in Post-Fukushima Film

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November 21, 2025

The Heterotopia of Disaster in Post-Fukushima Film
The Heterotopia of Disaster in Post-Fukushima Film

Volume 23

Abstract: This article examines Himizu (2012) by Sono Shion, analyzing the protagonist’s classroom and shanty house as key sites in post-3/11 Japan. Drawing on Foucault’s concept of heterotopia, the study shows how these spaces function as zones where discourses of reconstruction, wa, sontaku, kizuna, and gaman are enforced and contested. While the classroom shifts from ideological apparatus to heterotopia of deviation, the shanty house enables care amid exclusion. Overall, the article advances debates on post-disaster cinema and spatialized trauma.

Keywords: 3.11 disaster, Heterotopia, Disaster victims, Japanese social norms, Post-Fukushima film

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Volume 23

About the author:

Mi-Young Gu is a PhD candidate at the Graduate School of International Culture and Communication Studies, Waseda University. Her research investigates how contemporary Korean and Japanese cinema portray state, ideological, and capitalist violence, framing these dynamics as dystopian landscapes. Before pursuing academia, she worked for over a decade as a recording engineer in Korea’s music industry. Future research examines visual and sound technologies in Korean and Japanese contexts.

The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus is a peer-reviewed publication, providing critical analysis of the forces shaping the Asia-Pacific and the world.

    About the author:

    Mi-Young Gu is a PhD candidate at the Graduate School of International Culture and Communication Studies, Waseda University. Her research investigates how contemporary Korean and Japanese cinema portray state, ideological, and capitalist violence, framing these dynamics as dystopian landscapes. Before pursuing academia, she worked for over a decade as a recording engineer in Korea’s music industry. Future research examines visual and sound technologies in Korean and Japanese contexts.

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