Prior to the start of COVID-19 vaccination to senior citizens (April 2021), the author conducted an internet survey to investigate social psychology on vaccination and examine news reporting on it. The key findings and discussion are as follows. - Intention for vaccination and attributes of respondents: 73% of the entire respondents intended to get vaccinated. The figures were lower among the age-groups of 20s and 30s. Those “yet to decide” were predominantly women. Those regularly receiving flu vaccination tended to have a strong intention to get vaccinated. - Trust in the safety and efficacy of the vaccine: Many chose “I trust the vaccine to some extent,” which shows people do not have full confidence. Nevertheless, of those who “don't put much trust in the safety of the vaccine,”“ 45% were set to take inoculation. The result suggests the psychology of accepting vaccination out of fear of infection.” - Reasons for vaccine acceptance and hesitancy: “Expecting a herd immunity effect” was third-most cited by respondents intending to get vaccinated. “Safety concerns” and “doubting the efficacy” were cited by many in vaccine-hesitant respondents (including “yet to decide” group). - Reasons for safety concerns: The most-cited reason among vaccine-hesitant group was “concerns over unknown strong adverse reactions.” They are presumably afraid of using unprecedented types of vaccines that were developed in a short period of time. - News reporting on the safety: Not fully trusted. Among vaccine-hesitant respondents, many became concerned about the safety as they watched or listened to TV or radio news. In this survey, too, reports on post-vaccination anaphylaxis and death cases (their causal relation with vaccination were unverified) were criticized for fueling anxiety. For news media organizations covering these topics, the first priority should be accurately presenting public agencies' views (on the probability of symptoms occurring, causal relation, etc.) and efforts for preventing groundless concerns and misinformation about vaccination from spreading unnecessarily.

View full abstract

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute conducted a public opinion survey on post-disaster recovery, both nationwide and in three areas that had suffered especially severe damage—Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures (hereinafter “the three affected Prefectures”). This paper reports the findings by topics: “post-disaster recovery,” “nuclear power generation and energy issues” and “attitudes towards disaster.” [Post-disaster recovery] - Many people find decontamination in nuclear accident-affected areas not sufficiently progressing compared to recovery in tsunami-hit areas. - The three affected Prefectures have higher rates of people thinking “the recovery that they expected is being achieved” than nationwide, but the recovery of “daily lives of disaster survivors” and that of “local economy” are less felt than “roads and buildings.” - More than 80% of people feel “the memories of and lessons learned from the disaster are fading.” - In terms of central government's recovery/reconstruction efforts, “response to the nuclear accident” is cited as the most urgent issue, and “countermeasures against declining population” is also cited by many in the three affected Prefectures. [Nuclear power generation and energy issues] - About 70% of the respondents think the use of nuclear power plants should be reduced or abolished. - As for resuming nuclear power plant operations, nationwide those who “agree” account for 16%, “disagree” 39%, and “neither agree nor disagree” 44%. - Regarding the release of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the sea, nationwide those who “agree” account for 18%, “disagree” 51%, and “neither agree nor disagree” 30%. - More than 80% “think” releasing the treated water into the sea will cause reputational damage against marine products. [Attitudes towards disaster] - While there is a growing interest in disaster, those who think “Nature's fury is beyond human control” are increasing. - As for means to obtain information at the time of disaster, while “television” is cited by the overwhelming majority (nearly 90%) both nationwide and in the three affected Prefectures, “radio” is cited by more than 60% of respondentias in the three affected Prefectures.

View full abstract

A decade has passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake. Did Japan get over the damages caused by the catastrophic quake and is actualizing the recovery that people expected? What lessons have we learned from the insufficient preparedness for tsunami, earthquake, and nuclear accident to better prepare for large-scale disasters? To find the answers to them, the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute conducted a public opinion survey on people's attitudes towards post-disaster recovery and disaster risk reduction (DRR). The findings from the survey were presented at the “BUNKEN FORUM 2021 Presentations of Research Reports” held in March this year. The presentation was followed by a symposium with panelists Prof. Kawata Yoshiaki and Prof. Katada Toshitaka—academic experts on disaster/DRR who have been involved in post-Great East Japan Earthquake recovery efforts—and Mr. Noda Takenori, Mayor of Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture, who has been working on the recovery and reconstruction of disaster-affected areas as head of municipality. The panel discussion focused on what would be needed for the reconstruction of disaster-stricken areas and how to confront possible major disasters in the future. This paper aims to provide the gist of arguments made at the 90-minute symposium so that local communities can use them as a useful reference to their DRR and reconstructive measures. Panelists' opinions are presented according to the following five issues: 1) why the recovery is not felt, 2) why reconstruction took a long time, 3) recovery of local economy, 4) lasting impacts of the nuclear accident, and 5) how to prepare for large-scale disasters.

View full abstract

Japan's first case of novel coronavirus infection was confirmed in January 2020. The virus has been spreading across Japan since then, exerting enormous impact on society including the third state of emergency announced in April 2021. Responding to the situation, media organizations have been delivering information not only through broadcast news or newspapers but also through websites specifically launched for coronavirus-related information. Focusing on these coronavirus-specific websites, the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute analyzed 186 websites provided by media organizations and carried out an internet survey of 2,000 users with an aim to cross-sectionally study these organizations' efforts and approaches as well as to explore the use of websites. As part of the “BUNKEN FORUM 2021 Presentations of Research Reports” held in March this year, our team hosted a program themed “Delivering accurate and trustworthy information: Media's Efforts for Creating Coronavirus-Specific Websites and Their Usage by the Public,” where the gist of the findings from the above two research studies were reported. The presentation was followed by a discussion session with three panelists—creators of coronavirus-specific websites of NHK, Yahoo, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, respectively. What we learned from the discussion was the efforts exerted by each organization for communicating accurate information in an easy-to-understand manner during the COVID-19 pandemic and the attitudes of users. The panelists also shared the significance of cooperation among related-organizations such as media companies and local governments. This paper presents the details of the two research studies on the websites and the survey, along with the discussion at the forum. The author also introduces the results of qualitative research that were not reported in the forum.

View full abstract

This is the second part of a series reporting the results of an attitudes survey (web questionnaire survey and focus group) of television viewers on reruns. Following the first chapter that reviews Part I, the second chapter analyses “elements” and “patters (structures)” that viewers hope to see in the reruns by genre of programs. The analysis finds that women in their 40s particularly want to see many elements and feel strong attachment to reruns. It is also revealed that there is a strong need for watching reruns with improved image quality among men and those who view TV content also on the internet. The third chapter “Needs for NHK's Reruns” reports the trend of demand for what is called authentic programs, with many people wanting to see “masterpieces and popular works,” “considerate reporting with accurate information,” and “profoundness and grandiosity.” The fourth chapter “Expectations for NHK Archives” finds that male like to “watch programs that were aired when they were in their teens or 20s.” In terms of access to NHK's past programs, while “reruns on television” and “free online streaming” are the two popular media tools, it is found that young people are remarkably less interested in the archives. The sixth chapter presents the discussion at a symposium organized as part of the “BUNKEN FORUM 2021 Presentations of Research Reports.” Ms. Mafune Kana (Programming Division, BS TV Tokyo Corporation) likened past programs to “pickles,” saying, “You should make tartar sauce with them to make it easier for viewers to consume reruns.” Prof. Takinami Yuki (Josai International University) said, “Reruns serve as the gateway to rich archives,” and Prof. Ishiyama Tomoki (Akita University of Art), “With more people newly involved, the archives themselves will become stronger and stronger.” Both expressed great hopes for the use of past programs.

View full abstract