Effects of the least advantaged people’s information on group decisions:

A group experiment on the treatment of decontaminated soil outside Fukushima

Abstract

This study aimed to demonstrate the effects of the provided information on the consequences of group decisions in the case of the treatment of decontaminated soil outside Fukushima. Citizens are expected to make decisions in light of the plural common goods in public deliberations, where objective information should be given while the information taking specific people’s sides should not. The criteria of common good are diverse such as utilitarianism, the equality principle, and the maximin principle. However, if the information about the least advantaged people is not presented, it may be difficult to make decisions considering them. We conducted a group discussion experiment manipulating the provided information about Fukushima residents. The results revealed that participants in the informed condition evaluated the consequences considering Fukushima residents more than in the not-informed condition.