Charlie Hanabuchi

I. Introduction Language is not merely an instrument of communication; it is a civilizational architecture. It structures memory, encodes metaphysical assumptions, transmits legal and political categories, and shapes the formation of elites across generations. Throughout history, ruling strata have distinguished themselves not only through material power but through linguistic competence that grants access to authoritative texts, administrative institutions, and transregional networks. From the role of Latin in medieval European ecclesiastical and legal institutions to the function of Classical Chinese in imperial examination systems, linguistic mastery has consistently served as a gatekeeping mechanism for elite formation. In the contemporary international system—marked increasingly by multipolarity rather than unipolar dominance—the strategic selection of languages acquires renewed importance. The question is no longer simply which language enables global communication...

Introduction The safety-case vocabulary documents issued in March 2024 by the Atomic Energy Society of Japan (AESJ) aim to standardize and clarify key conceptual terms that underlie geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste ([1] and [2]). These documents, collectively referred to here as the “vocabulary initiative,” are ostensibly linguistic and technical in scope: they delineate meanings for terms such as “isolation,” “containment,” “long-term safety,” and “barrier system,” distinguishing their specialized regulatory and scientific usage from everyday interpretation. On the surface, the effort appears narrowly prescriptive, concerned primarily with avoiding miscommunication between experts and non-specialists. Yet, in the context of Japan’s energy history and post-Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster socio-political environment, the vocabulary initiative intersects profoundly with questions of epistemic authority, democratic legitimacy, and intergenerational eth...