Hiroki Wakamatsu

Irrational reputational damage on wakame seaweed in Sanriku district after the Fukushima nuclear disaster: revealed preference by auction experiment

This study investigated the Japanese consumers willingness to pay for wakame seaweed produced along the Sanriku coastal area located north of Fukushima, which suffered irrational reputational damage owing to concerns about radioactive contamination of seafood after the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. An auction experiment was conducted with and without information treatment on both literal and visual information on radioactive contamination for the purpose of reducing irrational reputational damage. The results show no statistically significant premium on willingness to pay for wakame when the information on radioactive contamination was provided. However, an information effect is revealed in terms of the change in purchasing decision, from no-purchase to purchase. Hence, counterpropaganda against the irrational reputational damage of radioactive contamination is effective not for price but for purchasing decisions. The information turned out to be ineffective for consumer preference possibly because a basis price under consumer preference blocks effective promotion.

Mitigating irrational reputational damage to marine products from radiation contamination

Many negative influences from the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, the subsequent tsunami, and Fukushima disaster, persist in the devastated areas, including reputational damage to the Japanese fishers. The Sanriku brand of wakame seaweed has experienced irrational reputational damage even though almost all of their products have tested negative for radioactivity. To recover from such damage, we tested the effectiveness of countermeasure promotions by measuring the effects of displayed elements on packaging and at a point of purchase (POP) display. Direct counter-promotion, such as mentioning radioactivity levels in seafood, can potentially cause adverse effects by reminding consumers of the radioactive contamination. Accordingly, we analyzed the direct effects of information about radioactive safety and the indirect effects of the information using images of a girl, aquaculture farmers, and a cook and labels of safety and security, inspection, and recovery from the earthquake disaster to identify which elements effectively mitigate irrational reputational damage. We employed conjoint analysis through a web survey. The results indicate that images and labels increase consumer utility without adverse effects. Furthermore, the labels of safety and security and inspection substitute the direct effect of publicizing the radioactivity test results.

Reputational damage and the Fukushima disaster: an analysis of seafood in Japan

As the levels of radioactivity in seafood have fallen back into the safe range, Fukushima fisheries are considering reopening. However, even if seafood from the Fukushima area were sufficiently safe to distribute to seafood markets, its value may be undermined because of the damage done to its reputation by the Fukushima disaster. We quantified consumers’ preferences for seafood from Fukushima and adjacent prefectures to examine the extent of the reputational damage to Fukushima seafood. We conducted a choice experiment to measure consumers’ willingness to pay for seafood from the Fukushima area. We also measured the impact of displaying ecolabels [Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Marine Eco-label Japan (MEL)] on Fukushima products. The results indicated that Fukushima products are considerably discounted compared with products displayed as domestic; even products from adjacent prefectures are substantially discounted. By contrast, consumers positively evaluated locally labeled products. We also found that demersal fish are discounted more than pelagic fish that inhabit the ocean surface off the shore of Fukushima.

Examining the Japanese seaweed market before and after the earthquake using a partial adjustment model of LA-AIDS

This study examines the changes in market demand for wakame seaweed before and after the Great East Japan Earthquake. For this purpose, we use scanner data comprising prices, quantity, brands, countries/places of origin, and product types of wakame for ten regional markets during the period 2005–2014. The Japanese seafood market suffered from the direct and indirect impact of the earthquake in 2011. Serious damage caused by the earthquake and tsunamis would have at least caused significant changes in the demand elasticities for wakame. However, using a linear-approximated almost ideal demand system (LA-AIDS) model, we find that, although disparities exist in the estimated elasticities between the pre- and post-earthquake periods, there is no significant change in the demand for wakame. Moreover, own-price elasticities of Sanriku wakame did not change even after the earthquake, and cross-price elasticities of Sanriku and its rival, Naruto, did not reveal a remarkable structural change from substitution to complementation or vice versa. This study concludes that the damage to the wakame seaweed market in Japan is at least limited.

A demand analysis for the Japanese cod markets with unknown structural changes

We estimated the demands of Japan’s cod and pollock markets, taking into account unknown structural changes. We used monthly wholesale price and quantity data between January 2004 and July 2013 at the Tsukiji market in Tokyo, Japan. Structural break tests detected multiple structural changes in the targeted period. A price-dependent demand model with detected structural changes successfully cleaned up the effects of the structural changes and estimated an accurate demand and elasticities. When structural changes were taken into account, the model fits improved by up to 17 points. The results indicated the one-way influence of cod on the pollock market. Also, the pollock market was sensitive to an economic recession, but household income did not affect pollock as well as cod, presumably because both goods are necessary goods for Japanese consumers. These results are helpful for policy makers in devising marketing strategies. Since fresh cod is an inelastic good, cod fisheries can reduce their cost by reducing their days at sea, which would increase the cod price due to its inelastic characteristics. As such, they can expect some profit via cost reduction and an increase in the price.

Manageable risks and the demand for food products: the case of oyster

Abstract The risk of norovirus food poisoning from oyster consumption can be minimized by consumers, as thorough cooking can destroy norovirus. This paper uses data from 23 prefectures in Japan during 1970–2010 to examine how the demand for oysters responds to this manageable risk. We find that the incidence rate of norovirus has no effect on the price of oysters in prefectures that specialize in oysters for cooking, whereas it has significant negative impacts in prefectures that produce oysters to be eaten raw. These results indicate that consumers respond differently to manageable and non-manageable risks.

Erratum to: Reputational damage and the Fukushima disaster: an analysis of seafood in Japan

Erratum to: Fish Sci DOI 10.1007/s12562-017-1129-6.

Reforming Wakame Aquaculture in Japan with Relaxed Processing Standards: From Consumer and Producer Viewpoints

This study investigated potential production reforms of wakame aquaculture in Japan through modification of processing standards. The research focused on the destemming process and examined both the consumers’ and producers’ perspectives. An auction experiment was conducted to measure consumer preferences for wakame with different destemming standards (1, 4, 7, and 10 mm). It was found that, although consumer preferences were diverse, there was no preference between the present (1-mm) and 4-mm standards. In addition, a production experiment was used to measure the amount of labor that could be saved (and thereby the improvement in profit) by relaxing the standard from 1 mm to 4 mm. It was concluded that this new standard would increase productivity by 13.3% without affecting consumer demand, which will improve the structure of this industry for competition against cheaper foreign products.