Investigating the gap between actual and perceived distance from a nuclear power plant; A Case study in Japan

Kato, Takaaki*; Takahara, Shogo  ; Homma, Toshimitsu

This study investigates the factors of the gaps between perceived and actual straight line distances to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP. Randomly selected adult citizens living in the two municipalities were surveyed in 2005, 2010 and 2011. Geographical and personal attributes, as well as experiences of the events that highlighted nuclear safety were the three groups of factors considered in this study. The Niigataken Chuetsu-oki earthquake hit the NPP between the first and the second surveys. The Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011 happened between the second and the third surveys. Before the Fukushima accident, overestimation of the straight line distance was common among the respondents and geographical attributes affected the bias between actual and perceived straight distances. After the Fukushima accident, underestimation became common and personal attributes became more influential as the factor of the perceived-actual distance gap.