2022 年 31 巻 2 号 p. 108-127
The development of space infrastructure is a story often divorced from the physical context in which it occurs. Despite this lacuna, the arrival of buildings, people, and the clamour of the space race can have a tremendous impact on previously remote locations̶and breed powerful pushback against the priorities of the state and space institutions. This article explores this process through the story of the initial hesitancy, and eventual acceptance, of locals living near Japan's two most important launch sites in Tanegashima and Kagoshima. When faced with the prospect of these large, noisy ‘social bads’ facilities endangering their lifestyles, local fishermen organized to resist their construction. This in turn caused divisions within local society, as those convinced they brought more economic opportunities resisted those who would have had their construction halted. Eventually, economic interest, nationalism, and political activism converged to generate acceptance and, eventually, cooperation between rocketeers and those who lived in the shadow of their rockets.
