I took this photo less than two weeks before the earthquake/tsunami in March 2011. I wasn’t sure what was going on other than a protest of some sort. I knew it was uncommon to see organized demonstrations in Japan, at least compared to America. In Japan, people tend to be reserved and, as a result, do not routinely protest or publicly express discontent. So this protester caught my eye and I immediately needed to capture the moment.
Sure, this photograph had nothing to do with nuclear power or radiation. However, I look at it now and cannot help but see it as foreshadowing for what was to come. From what I read daily in the Japan Times, organized protests are now more common; just recently, nearly 200,000 people gathered in Yoyogi Park to protest against the reopening of a nuclear power plant in Japan. It’s clear to me that, in a post 3/11 Japan, people – many for the first time – are publicly expressing their opinions and actively trying to influence public policy.