Inner conflict between nuclear power generation and electricity rates: A Japanese case study

- The Fukushima crisis shocked Japanese citizens' attitudes on nuclear power plants.
- Citizens' attitudes toward nuclear power generation and electricity rates surveyed
- The trade-off caused cognitive dissonance resulting in a hardline stance.
- The consumer surplus improves with a no-choice option for suspending judgment.

Since the March 11 earthquake, Japanese households have been facing a trade-off problem between decreasing dependency on nuclear power generation and avoiding an increase in electricity rates. We analyze this inner conflict quantitatively, adopting two economic-psychological approaches: First, we note that the trade-off causes cognitive dissonance after making a choice that results in a wider desirability gap between the chosen and rejected alternatives. Second, the consumer surplus improves by 11.2% with a no-choice option for suspending judgment in the presence of cognitive dissonance. Third, individual characteristics such as gender and annual household income are significantly correlated with both cognitive dissonance and a preference for the no-choice option.