Public acceptance of nuclear power in Japan

Japan has a fragile energy supply structure, with 84% of its energy depending on import; for example, 99.6% of the oil comes from overseas, which makes Japan's economic base rather vulnerable. In order to ensure constant energy supply, it is indispensable to diversify the energy sources and to create indigenous energy. In view of this, nuclear energy is considered to be the main alternative to crude oil because it has several advantages over other energy sources, such as stable supply of uranium and the fact that it is compatible with efforts to find solutions to global environmental problems. However, since the general public is not familiar with nuclear technology, it is difficult to get the understanding and co-operation of people. In view of this, public relations activities providing information on the need and safety of nuclear power generation have been performed. As a result, in recent years, about 70% of the people came to recognize the need for nuclear power generation. Although people's recognition of this need has increased substantially, it is still difficult for them to accept the construction of nuclear facilities, because of their anxiety regarding the safety of such plants and the lack of information by the government and electric utilities. This makes the acquisition of new sites for nuclear power plants difficult, so that the time required for developing such plants becomes longer. In order to eliminate people's anxieties, both the government and electric utilities should provide accurate information, at the proper time and using a method that makes it easy for the people to understand the problems involved. It is also important for the government and the electric utilities to listen carefully to the opinions and questions of people and to increase friendly communications with them. The government, electric utilities and constructors of nuclear facilities have to co-operate in order to improve the measures taken to gain public acceptance of nuclear energy. (author). 6 figs, 1 tab