2019 Volume 28 Issue 2 Pages 81-93
Legitimacy was defined as approvability of own or others’ rights in decision about NIMBY facilities. According to the approval-acceptance model, people’s acceptance intentions of public decisions would be determined by legitimacy based on perceived substance, institutional substance, and resentment. The present study examined effects of debate by various actors on mutual evaluation of their legitimacy and acceptance intentions. In a simulation gaming (Who & Why Game II), participants were allocated to 4 actors, such as local residents, experts commission, national majority, and government agency around high-level radioactive waste storage facility. They debated on who should decide whether or not a region is appropriate for the site proposed for the facility. Legitimacy was a primary determinant for acceptance of decisions consistently with the above model in both before and after the debate. The legitimacy of local residents was evaluated highest, moreover, effects of debate were not observed differently from evaluations of other 3 actors. Persistency of residents’ legitimacy was discussed theoretically.
