Gender Differences in Attitudes Toward the Nuclear Power Policies and in Pro-Environment Behavior: Empirical Results Based on Japanese General Social Survey Data

The accident at the Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Power Plant revealed keen gender differences in evacuation behavior. Voluntary evacuation from the surrounding are of the “residence restriction area” was pursued more by mothers with children than fathers. This paper examines gender differences in risk perception, in attitudes toward the nuclear power policies and in pro-environment behavior by analyzing data sets of Japanese General Social Survey 2002/2008/2010/2012/2015/2017. There is no gender difference in risk perception of an occurrence of earthquakes. There is also no gender difference in risk perception of an occurrence of nuclear power plants accidents (JGSS-2012/2015; age, education, marital status, work status, living standard, regional blocs, party affiliation, age of the youngest child, and distance from the nearest power plant are controlled. On the other hand, there are clear gender differences regarding the degree of anxiety about food contamination by radioactive substances and one’s attitudes toward nuclear power policies. Women are more anxious about food contamination; the opinion on abolishing all the nuclear reactors has been supported more by women than men (JGSS-2012; JGSS-2015). Regarding pro-environmental behavior, both men and women in Japan tend to turn off lights or appliances not in use frequently (50%) or sometimes (35%); women turn off lights significantly more frequently than men. People came to turn off lights a little bit more frequently in JGSS-2012, a year after the East Japan Earthquake, but not much. In 2012, about 30% of people tried to save electricity more frequently and 45% of them tried sometimes. We found no relationship between one’s pro-environmental behavior and one’s attitudes toward the nuclear power policies (JGSS-2017). Both men and women in Japan try to save electricity regardless of their attitudes toward the nuclear power policies.