Japanese Consumers’ Altruistic Attitude and Food Choice: Two Years After Fukushima Accident

Hosono, Hiromi; Iwabuchi, Mami; Kumagai, Yuko; Sekizaki, Tsutomu

doi:10.1007/978-981-287-417-7_28

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…These regulations designate the maximum permissible dose of radioactive substances for each food category; the value for radioactive cesium in general food products was set at 500 Becquerel/kg or less. A smaller dose of 100 Becquerel/kg was applied in a revised regulation enacted in April 2012, approximately one year after the earthquake (Hosono et al 2013). …”

Section: Food Safety Measures and Consumers' Risk Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do agricultural markets respond to radiation risk? Evidence from the 2011 disaster in Japan

Tajima

Yamamoto

Ichinose

2016

Regional Science and Urban Economics

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Since the explosion of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011, public anxiety surrounding the radioactive contamination of food and the environment has become widespread. This article examines how the price of vegetables in the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market was impacted in the wake of the nuclear accident. This study exploits the quasi-experimental condition generated by this accident to test the market price change using monthly panel data on the price of six types of fresh vegetable from each of the 47 prefectures in Japan. Our estimation results show that the price of vegetables grown in Fukushima Prefecture was discounted by 10 -38 % after the disaster compared to the counter-factual estimates in the absence of a perceived radiation risk. This effect has persisted even after radioactive detection tests showed negative results in subsequent years. Consumer behavior of avoiding purchasing vegetables from Fukushima and instead buying vegetables grown in other areas may explain the price gap.JEL Code: Q13, Q51, Q53, R11

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Section: Food Safety Measures and Consumers' Risk Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do agricultural markets respond to radiation risk? Evidence from the 2011 disaster in Japan

Tajima

Yamamoto

Ichinose

2016

Regional Science and Urban Economics

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“…Most previous studies on risk perception towards food have focused on the risks inherent to food such as calories and ingredients; on the risks of food processing [ 5 , 11 , 12 ]; or on the management of food such as bacteria, pesticides, and food poisoning [ 13 , 14 ]. While there were a few studies on the perception of Japanese food following the Fukushima accident, most studies examined Japanese citizens [ 9 , 15 – 17 ]. There were also a few studies on American consumers [ 3 ] and Korean consumers [ 18 ] on the perception of seafood after the Fukushima accident; however, they mainly focused on the general level of risk perception and awareness about food safety issues related to radioactive contaminations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors associated with the risk perception and purchase decisions of Fukushima-related food in South Korea

Lee

Seo

Song³

et al. 2017

PLoS ONE

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Following the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, the risk level perceived by Koreans on the radioactive contamination of Japanese food that is being distributed in Korea remains high. Many of these perceptions are based on subjective risk perception rather than an objective measure with scientific evidence, which makes communicating risks more difficult; therefore, it is critical to understand factors associated with risk perception for effective risk communication. In this study, we identified variables that are associated with buying tendencies and opinions about the regulatory policy of Japanese seafood after the accident. A survey was conducted with 1045 adults aged over 20 years in Korea. The majority (68.8%) responded that they would not purchase Japanese seafood when radioactivity levels in the food were non-detectable. Moreover, 82.2% responded that the current levels of import restrictions on Japanese seafood must be maintained. Despite many concerns regarding the exposure to radiation and the effects from food products following the Fukushima accident, the opportunities to encounter and to collect correct information remain limited and average radioactive knowledge scores were low (3.63 out of 9). Of the various characteristics associated with purchase decisions and agreement on the current import restraints of Japanese seafood, trust levels in the government and the mass media for providing information on radioactivity were major factors that influenced risk perception. While the scope of this study was limited to seafood, it is very closely tied to daily lives, where we revealed differences about risk perceptions and agreement on import restraints of Japanese seafood per a complex mixture of individual characteristics and the surrounding environment. These results provide useful information to understand the risk perception of the potential radioactive contamination of food and to predict the public’s responses to food consumption and import restraint policies due to nuclear accidents in neighboring countries.

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Japanese Consumers’ Altruistic Attitude and Food Choice: Two Years After Fukushima Accident

Cited by 2 publications

References 2 publications

How do agricultural markets respond to radiation risk? Evidence from the 2011 disaster in Japan

How do agricultural markets respond to radiation risk? Evidence from the 2011 disaster in Japan

Factors associated with the risk perception and purchase decisions of Fukushima-related food in South Korea

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