Conventionally, “agreement” of the persons concerned has been pursued in environmental conflict, but it cannot be attained easily in the risk society. Requirement of agreement means granting an adversary a power of veto. It has some legal issues. Therefore, we cannot require agreement. According to the argument in social psychology, “agreement” is not pursued in risk communication but a “understanding”. In risk communication, “a meaningful response” based on interactive communication is performed, and an “understanding” of the persons concerned is urged as a result. On the other hand, in the arguments of “dismissal due to economic conditions” in labor law, “understanding” is not a subjective state but an objective. It means the state which a third party can evaluate against the intention of the person himself/herself about it. The research on not “agreement” as output but an “understanding” as a process is required in the dispute processing research in the risk society.
