2022 Volume 31 Issue 2 Pages 130-142
This study explored the effectiveness of the veil of ignorance in consensus building on NIMBY issues, focusing specifically on the selection of candidate geological disposal sites for high-level radioactive waste. Since NIMBY issues are notoriously difficult to reach consensus on, we examined the effectiveness of employing a ‘veil of ignorance’ during the site selection process. We refer to two elements of the veil of ignorance: the first is anyone can be a concerned party and the second is that individuals unaware of their interests discuss and make a decision. To establish this structure we designed a game, the “Consensus Building of High-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Site Game,” in which anyone can be selected as representing a candidate site, and there are a type of player that discuss the value criteria for deciding a disposal site without knowing their interest. The game involves two types of players: “the local governors” who are aware of their regions’ interests, and “citizens” who are unaware of their residential regions. The game also includes a stepwise selection process: the local governors first engage in discussion, then the citizens decide on the relevant value criteria for site selection. Our results demonstrated that a selection process employing a veil of ignorance was evaluated as fair but did not necessarily lead to acceptance. This suggested that incorporating a ‘veil of ignorance’ into a consensus building process is effective, but that it is necessary to combine alternative methods to increase acceptance of the outcome of the site selection process.
