Impact Factors on Opinion Fluctuation Regarding the Pros and Cons of 

Restarting Nuclear Power Plants

Hiroki Takano

Kyoto Koka Women’s University, Japan

Abstract: This paper, from the viewpoint of developing political literacy, addresses the “pros and cons of the restart of nuclear powerplants” as a controversial issue presented in a university lecture, and investigates the factors that influenced the students’ decision-making process regarding the restart of nuclear power plants. The results showed that the degree of change (standard deviation: S) in the percentage of opinions in favor of or opposed to the restart varied by department, and tended to be smaller in science departments. The standard deviations tended to be smaller for departments with more students with good study habits, and these departments displayed a negative correlation. For the classes in which the lecturer was clearly opposed to the restart of nuclear power plants, the change in the percentage of students in favor of the restart was small, while the percentage of students opposed to the restart remained consistently high. Furthermore, changing the order in which information was given changed the decision-making process, but tended not to affect their final opinions. Thus, teaching methods for citizenship education addressing controversial issues must consider these influencing factors.