A Comparative Case Study of Regional Political Processes Concerning the Resumption of Nuclear Power Plant Operations

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K01474
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 06010:Politics-related
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Kaoru IZUMI 九州大学, 法学研究院, 教授 (20294861)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 自治体 / 原発 / 政治過程 / 再稼働 / 事例研究 / 比較研究

Outline of Final Research Achievements

By comparing the cases of Kyushu Electric Power's Sendai and Genkai nuclear power plants and Shikoku Electric Power's Ikata nuclear power plant, this study (1) typified common aspects of the nuclear power plant restart process and (2) identified common elements in the formation of consensus for restarting the plants. Furthermore, (3) as a result of the study, it became clear that the issue of restarting nuclear power plants was not a substantive issue in the gubernatorial election, and this point could not be summarized in a paper or other means. Based on the above, it can be said that this study contributed to the development of research on municipal political processes through a comparative study of three cases of consensus building within and among municipalities over the issue of restarting nuclear power plant operations.

Free Research Field

政治学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、九州電力の川内原発、玄海原発と、四国電力の伊方原発の再稼働事例を比較検討することで、①原発再稼働過程に共通する局面を類型化し、②再稼働の合意形成における共通する要素（環境条件など）を特定した。他方で③知事選挙において再稼働問題は、実質的な争点にはならないことを確認した。これらは学術的には、①自治体政治過程研究、ならびに②自治体選挙研究に、新たな知見を加えるものであり、それらの発展に貢献できたと言える。また原発再稼働をめぐる自治体の動向は、社会的にも高い関心を呼ぶ問題であり、その関心に即した情報を提供できたという点において社会的意義がある。