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The Effects of the Passage of Time from the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake on the Public’s Anxiety about a Variety of Hazards

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  • Kazuya Nakayachi

    (Faculty of Psychology, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe-shi, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan)

  • Kazuhisa Nagaya

    (Graduate School of Psychology, Doshisha University Kyotanabe-shi, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan)

Abstract

This research investigated whether the Japanese people’s anxiety about a variety of hazards, including earthquakes and nuclear accidents, has changed over time since the Tohoku Earthquake in 2011. Data from three nationwide surveys conducted in 2008, 2012, and 2015 were compared to see the change in societal levels of anxiety toward 51 types of hazards. The same two-phase stratified random sampling method was used to create the list of participants in each survey. The results showed that anxiety about earthquakes and nuclear accidents had increased for a time after the Tohoku Earthquake, and then decreased after a four-year time frame with no severe earthquakes and nuclear accidents. It was also revealed that the anxiety level for some hazards other than earthquakes and nuclear accidents had decreased at ten months after the Earthquake, and then remained unchanged after the four years. Therefore, ironically, a major disaster might decrease the public anxiety in general at least for several years.

Suggested Citation

  • Kazuya Nakayachi & Kazuhisa Nagaya, 2016. "The Effects of the Passage of Time from the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake on the Public’s Anxiety about a Variety of Hazards," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-12, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:13:y:2016:i:9:p:866-:d:77131
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Shuhei Nomura & Masaharu Tsubokura & Akihiko Ozaki & Michio Murakami & Susan Hodgson & Marta Blangiardo & Yoshitaka Nishikawa & Tomohiro Morita & Tomoyoshi Oikawa, 2017. "Towards a Long-Term Strategy for Voluntary-Based Internal Radiation Contamination Monitoring: A Population-Level Analysis of Monitoring Prevalence and Factors Associated with Monitoring Participation ," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-18, April.
    2. Dingde Xu & Enlai Liu & Xuxi Wang & Hong Tang & Shaoquan Liu, 2018. "Rural Households’ Livelihood Capital, Risk Perception, and Willingness to Purchase Earthquake Disaster Insurance: Evidence from Southwestern China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-19, June.
    3. Makoto Hasegawa & Michio Murakami & Yoshitake Takebayashi & Satoshi Suzuki & Hitoshi Ohto, 2018. "Social Capital Enhanced Disaster Preparedness and Health Consultations after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Power Station Accident," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-17, March.

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