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International Conference
"Justice and Catastrophe: Risk, Responsibility and Reciprocity"

March 19 (Wed.) & 20 (Thu.) , 2014
Place: Soshikan Conference Room, Kinugasa Campus, Ritsumeikan University
[Japanese] / [Korean]



Date:March 19, 2014(Wed.) 9:45~17:00 (Doors open at 9:15)
   March 20, 2014 (Thu.) 10:00~17:00 (Doors open at 9:30)
Place: Soshikan Conference Room, Kinugasa Campus, Ritsumeikan University
Participation: Free of Charge/ No Advance Application Necessary
Languages:English & Japanese (Interpretation will be provided during Q&A sessions)

■Event Overview
Catastrophes are particular events, localized in time and space that usually only directly affects some members of society, leaving others unscathed. What do others in justice owe to victims of catastrophes? What are their rights? What are our obligations? Beyond humanitarian help and economic reconstruction, what are those who suffered from a major catastrophe entitled to? What help, what compensation is it our duty to give them? And whose duty is it? If only some people will be directly affected by the next earthquake or typhoon, the risk is shared by all. In view of this we may well have a common responsibility, because a shared risk suggests that the condition of reciprocity essential to our theories of justice is satisfied.

■Program

March 19
9:45-10:00 Watanabe, Kozo (Vice President, Ritsumeikan University)
Opening address

10:00-11:00 Osawa, Masachi (Guest Professor in Reitaku University)
How Can We Make a Solidarity with Future Generation?

11:00-11:15 Coffee Break

11:15-12:15 Usami, Makoto (Kyoto University)
Justice after Catastrophe: Reciprocity, Security, and Solidarity

12:15-13:30 Lunch

13:30-14:30 Anspach, Mark (Imitatio, The Thiel Foundation)
Keeping Reciprocity Positive: The Role of the State and the Risks Disaster Brings

14:30-15:30 Gotoh, Reiko (Hitotsubashi University)
Risk as a Viewpoint and Public Reciprocity

15:30-15:45 Coffee Break

【Student Session 1】
15:45-16:10 Inukai, Wataru (University of Tokyo)
Rights/Uncertainty/Reciprocity and Risk Evaluation

16:10-16:35 Niu, Geping (Ritsumeikan University)
A Critical Study of Catastrophe in China

16:35-17:00 Tamura, Azumi (University of Bradford)
Overcoming the Consumption of Catastrophe: the Post-Fukushima Anti-Nuclear Movement and ‘Networked Ethics’

March 20
10:00-11:00 Nakayama, Ryuichi (Osaka University)
Politics of Reciprocity and Responsibility: Before and After the Materialization of Risks

11:00-11:15 Coffee Break

11:15-12:15 Dumouchel, Paul (Ritsumeikan University)
Reciprocity: Nuclear Risk and Responsibility

12:15-13:30 Lunch

13:30-14:30 Broinowski, Adam (Australian National University, Australia)
Immunity: Priorities of Life and Sovereign

14:30-15:30 Inoue, Akira (Ritsumeikan University)
Luck Egalitarianism and Catastrophe

15:30-15:45 Coffee Break

【Student Session 2】
15:45-16:10 Ahn, Hyosuk (Ritsumeikan University)
Current Condition and Possibility of Social Responsibility to Persons with ALS

16:10-16:35 Yasuda, Tomohiro (Ritsumeikan University)
Network of Opportunities Viewed from Reciprocity: Autonomy/Generosity in Deschooling Society

16:35-17:00 Yamaguchi, Maki (Ritsumeikan University)
Possibilities and Challenges of Accumulation of 'Narratives' over Catastrophe: Reexamination of Murakami Haruki Underground

Host:Intensive Program of International Institute of Language and Culture Studies, Ritsumeikan University (Academic Year 2013) "Justice and Catastrophe (Research Group on Justice and Symbiosis)"
Co-host:Research Center for Ars Vivendi at Ritsumeikan University, Graduate School of Core Ethics and Frontier Sciences at Ritsumeikan University

■Inquiry:
Administrative Office, International Institute of Language and Culture Studies, Ritsumeikan University
Tel:+81-75-465-8164
E-mail:justiceandcatastrophe@gmail.com
URL: http://www.r-gscefs.jp/

■Access Map
Campus Map:http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/eng/common/img/data/kinu_map.pdf
Access Map:http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/eng/common/img/data/access-map-kinugasa.pdf

■Introduction of This Conference
This international conference which will be held on March 19 and 20, 2014 at Ritsumeikan University, is co-organized by the Research Center for Ars Vivendi and part of the research project Social Justice and Catastrophes. The goal of this project is to enquire into the relations between catastrophes, whether natural or manmade, and justice. That is a complex issue which involves numerous questions, in the particular what responsibility do we have towards the victims of catastrophes, but also to prevent catastrophes from happening to the extent that this is possible, and to protect those who are most vulnerable. Catastrophes are particular events, localized in time and space that usually only directly affects some members of society, leaving others unscathed. What do others in justice owe to victims of catastrophes? What are their rights? What are our obligations? Beyond humanitarian help and economic reconstruction, what are those who suffered from a major catastrophe entitled to as a right? What help, what compensation is it our duty to give them? And whose duty is it? If only some people will be directly affected by the next earthquake or typhoon, the risk is shared by all. In view of this we may well have a common responsibility, because a shared risk suggests that the condition of reciprocity that is considered essential in most modern theories of justice is satisfied. Finally there is a practical anthropological aspect to these questions where concerns what happens after a catastrophe. How do victims react? How is the social fabric broken, put perhaps also at time and in some aspect reinforced after a catastrophe? Finally what is our responsibility for the future in view of past catastrophes and of what we know of the likelihood of future catastrophes?

Paul Dumouchel

■Report of This Conference
March 19 and 20 the International conference “Justice and Catastrophe: Risk, Responsibility and Reciprocity” was held in Ritsumeikan University at the Kyoto, Kinugasa campus. This is third international conference on justice and catastrophe organized by the Research Group on Justice and Symbiosis with the help of the Research Center for Ars Vivendi. In this bilingual conference, anthropologist Mark Anspach from the Thiel foundation (USA) and researcher Adam Broinowski from Australian National University (Australia) joined Japanese researchers from Reitaku, Hitotsubashi, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Ritsumeikan University to discuss issues of justice that arise in the aftermath of a catastrophe as well as the question of managing risk and of the responsibility to future generations involved in catastrophes such as the Fukushima nuclear accident whose consequences are likely to extend far into the future. Even if the number of participants was relatively small, we had lively and very fruitful discussions as participants from different fields took advantage of this opportunity to exchange important information and to cross fertilize each other’s discipline. Furthermore, six student presentations enriched our discussion. These presentations allowed graduate students from different universities to make their own research better known as well as to expose it to constructive criticism form well established specialists. The proceedings of the conference will be published in the Ritsumeikan Studies in Language and Culture and a book project, to be published in Japanese, is now in discussion among the organizers and participants.




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