エネルギー問題と世論：過去を振り返る

抄録

This paper systematically presents and analyzes fifty years of opinion polls conducted by the Japanese mass-media before the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The results show that Japanese people, on average, did not clearly recognize energy issues as a problem, which itself required a solution, until the late 1970s. The second oil-crisis in 1979 made people aware of the importance of securing energy resources as well as the merit of conserving energy in households. However, this awareness of energy issues gradually faded as time passed and fear of another energy crisis dwindled. Global warming issues introduced a new perspective in the late 1990s that required people to choose future energy resources based upon comparisons of merits and demerits of using each resource type. Likewise, citizens have been more involved in energy supply and demand issues during the past 50 years. The paper also discusses some implications of the historical findings of national opinions concerning the energy policy after the 2011 earthquake.