Mapping island information ecosystems: Exploring the role of the ‘Bōsai Musen’ emergency and disaster broadcasting system in the everyday life of Amami islands
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Authors
Papoutsaki, Evangelia
Kuwahara, S.
Kuwahara, S.
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Date
2024
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Journal Article
Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori subject headings)
Keyword
Amami islands (Japan)
Japan
disaster communication
disaster management
remote island communication
Japan
disaster communication
disaster management
remote island communication
ANZSRC Field of Research Code (2020)
Citation
Papoutsaki, E., & Kuwahara, S. (2024). Mapping island information ecosystems: Exploring the role of the ‘Bōsai Musen’ emergency and disaster broadcasting system in the everyday life of Amami islands. South Pacific Studies Journal, vol 44, No1,2, 9-32.
https://hdl.handle.net/10652/6871
Abstract
Bōsai Musen (BM) is part of Japan’s extensive disaster and emergency broadcasting system. This article, based on ethnographic research that sought to map the communicative ecology of the Amami Islands, focuses on the use of Bōsai Musen and its integration in the islands' information ecosystem in the form of convivial technology that reflects resiliency and agency. Many remote island communities still rely heavily on this system to get information not only about weather emergencies but also vital community related news. Most island communities have either a loudspeaker mounted on a tall pole in a central location, or a device installed in individual homes or a combination of both. The degree of access, frequency of use, amount and type of information and engagement with it, as well as their technology status (digital or analogue, single or multichannel, varies significantly depending on t the communicative ecology of an individual island or community. What has emerged from this research is a system that is well integrated into the everyday life of some Amami island communities and forms an integral part not only of their disaster and emergency information ecosystem but overall communicative ecology. The article also presents a more integrated approach to mapping island information ecosystems.
Note: this research is not concerned with the technical aspects of BM or its role in disaster prevention but its ‘softer’ role in the wider communicative ecology of the islands.
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Kagoshima University
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