Abstract
The Annual East Japan Women's Ekiden or long-distance relay was held in November, 2011. The race course was about sixty kilometers away from the Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Power Plant, which had had a nuclear accident. There was a concern over radiation in the area and many protested against the race in which the teenagers run without any protection against radiation. Opposing and supporting discourses intensified on websites, with some referring to the race as “Death Ekiden”, “Running Himeyuri Students” and so forth, while the organizers emphasized their intent to support the recovery of the disaster-hit area. This research aims to explore and understand gender politics in both advocating and criticizing discourses, beyond the specific controversy over the Fukushima Women's Ekiden. The supporting discourse and opposing discourse may seem to stand in contrast, but the structure to dominate women is found to be similar. The girl runners are voicelessly incorporated into the political desires of “Kizuna (bond) for reconstruction” and “Contribution of sport to reconstruction” or they are narrated from paternalistic viewpoints as girls who need to be helped by the “humanitarian” opponents. In both of the discourses, however, the voices of female runners are muted and not heard.
https://ror.org/03zhhr656 
