#fukushima Five Years On: A Multimethod Analysis of Twitter on the Anniversary of the Nuclear Disaster

Abstract

This article examines how the fifth anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was commemorated on English-speaking Twitter in March 2016. By combining social network analysis and critical discourse analysis, a research design is developed that can be applied to study the structure of actors and interpretative resources invoked in the crafting of communal remembrance of a disruptive, global media event. In the study, we explore the most visible actors and the most dominant meanings in the #fukushima stream. According to our analysis, the most significant players were the mainstream media and other established organizations. While most of the retweeted messages contained a ritual element of collective memory work, grief, and observance, another prominent feature was the strongly politicized discourse surrounding the aftermath of the disaster.