In 2011 a tsunami over 20 meters high struck Japan's northeastern coastline. Along with causing close to 20,000 deaths, it destroyed many buildings, leaving behind a landscape of ruins. In the years since the disaster, various groups in Japan have interpreted these ruins as a way to work through “what went wrong.” Some pointed to local officials’ failure to properly prepare for the disaster, as well as the form of economic development that they had promoted. Others, however, particularly state officials, argued that the ruins of failed development reveal something that can be used to stimulate economic recovery and legitimize further development. Ironically, these groups mobilized the debris of “progress” to advance progress itself, complicating theories of recent ruins as “counter-sites.” This shows that actors can construct and leverage the truth content of ruins in support of the very ideologies and processes that caused their ruination in the first place. [3.11, disaster, governance, materiality, modernity, ruination, Japan]

中文翻译：

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未来的废墟

2011 年，一场超过 20 米高的海啸袭击了日本东北部海岸线。除了造成近 20,000 人死亡外，它还摧毁了许多建筑物，留下一片废墟。灾难发生后的几年里，日本的各个团体都将这些废墟解释为解决“出了什么问题”的一种方式。一些人指出，地方官员没有做好防灾准备，以及他们所推动的经济发展形式。然而，其他人，特别是国家官员，认为失败的发展的废墟揭示了一些可以用来刺激经济复苏和使进一步发展合法化的东西。具有讽刺意味的是，这些团体动员了“进步”的碎片来推动进步本身，将最近废墟的理论复杂化为“反遗址”。”这表明，行动者可以构建和利用废墟的真相内容来支持最初导致他们毁灭的意识形态和过程。[3.11、灾难、治理、物质性、现代性、毁灭、日本]