Japan was shaken by the 'double disaster' of earthquake and sarin gas attack in 1995, and in 2011 it was hit once again by the 'triple disaster' of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. This international, multi-disciplinary group of scholars examines the state and societal responses to the disasters and social crisis.

"The present volume edited by Mark Mullins and Koichi Nakano, on the other hand, aims for a far more deeply contextualized understanding of the human impacts ? . One of its unique features is that, through parallel studies, it provides fruitful comparisons between the two major 'disaster years' of recent Japanese history ? this book is an important and original contribution to the growing multidisciplinary field of disaster studies both in the Japanese and in the global context." (Roy Starrs, Japanese Studies, Vol. 37 (2), September, 2017)

"This book offers a strong collection of essays that will help readers understand more deeply Japan's contemporary attitudes towards disaster. ? these timely essays succeed in contextualizing and making sense of the recent political, religious, and sociocultural responses to catastrophe, and the collection is an important contribution to the multidisciplinary understanding of social struggle, crisis, and disaster in contemporary Japan." (Pablo Figueroa, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 90 (1), March, 2017)