A tendency to prioritize the rights of concerned parties unquestioningly was consequently observed among people around the location of not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) facilities—a phenomenon which is defined as superior legitimization of the concerned parties. However, this is an intuitive decision that results in irrational goals, such as non-completion of public goods. The multipolarization of concerned parties, wherein two or more concerned parties hold conflicting interests, is hypothesized to induce intentional consideration that inhibits intuitive decisions. High-school students played a simulation game, “Who & Why Game (WWG),” in which they were tasked to deliberate about the legitimate rights to decide the placement of a high-level radioactive waste storage facility as one of four roles; namely, a local resident, an expert commission member, a national majority, or a government agency. Their superior legitimization of the local resident was inhibited when future generations were presented as another concerned party having a conflict of interest with the local resident. Finally, the usefulness of the WWG was discussed theoretically.

Recently, the frequency of children’s nature-related experiences has been decreasing. Early childhood is an important period for cultivating the foundation of one’s personality. Therefore, enriching nature-related experiences in early childhood is important for nurturing a positive attitude towards nature. This study aims to clarify the current state of nature-related experiences at early childhood facilities in Akita Prefecture, on the island of Honshu, Japan. Furthermore, the authors assess whether or not factors such as the facility's surrounding natural environment and existing staff training affect the frequency of nature-related experiences and discuss potential improvements. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted at all 314 early childhood facilities in Akita Prefecture, and the responses from 193 facilities were analyzed. The results revealed that the frequency of overall activities, especially out-of-facility activities, in Akita exceeded those in Tokyo and Hyogo prefectures, where the same questionnaire-based survey was conducted during previous research. However, the frequency of activities and the implementation of different activity items varied widely between facilities. The environment surrounding facilities and the staff training for nature-related experiences were significantly correlated to the frequency of the activities. Therefore, staff training programs should be implemented to increase and enrich the nature-related experiences. Furthermore further efforts to initiate activities in the respective playgrounds with less naturally appealing surroundings is encouraged.