Utilization of social capital for community reconstruction returned after long-term evacuation by the nuclear power plant accident

Abstract

This study aims to derive categories of social capital that can be utilized for community reconstruction in the case of “X” town, where people returned after a long-term evacuation by the nuclear power plant accident. Three people who returned to “X” town agreed to cooperate for research and responded to a semi-structured interview. The narrative data were translated into text and categorized by qualitative analysis as: 1) the traditional administrative districts, or smaller group, or smaller Tonarigumi between neighboring groups that were closely connected; 2) historically accepted strangers; 3) there is an attachment to the area; and 4) returned residents held gatherings that could be connected. The social capital of not excluding strangers is synergistic with the social capital of attachment to the area. This complements the weaknesses that tend to occur in networks with strong cohesive forces. It was suggested that the extracted categories are factors that can be utilized for community reconstruction.