Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analyze the Willingness to Pay (WTP) of Fukuoka residents for the introduction of bio-ethanol on use of domestic automobile fuel. The contingent valuation method was used to carry out the analysis and we found that the average WTP was ¥3 per liter and it was higher than the normal fuel price. If the same tendency and results in this study are assumed to be extended for the whole country, the total amount of WTP for introducing bio-ethanol is ¥180 billions per year. If we use this amount of money for the rice production of bio-ethanol, the average subsidy for 1 million ha set-aside paddy field was ¥18,000 per ha. Even thought there are many problems to be considered for the development of bio-ethanol industry in Japan, this subsidy should be very useful for the promotion of the domestic bio-ethanol production.
