Abstract

This paper attempts to show the importance of the risk communication between grass-roots experts and local people from Japanese Environmental Reform Movement. The paper also tries to illustrate that this risk communication causes spontaneous education and keeps the local people and environment from risk, as Beck mentioned in his book “Risk Society” (Beck, 1992). Spontaneous education means the understanding of environmental problems by ordinary local people that comes from grass-roots experts. To analyze this risk communication, the following two hypotheses have been created: 1) the crucial role played by intermediary organization, Environmental NGOs etc; and 2) the crucial role of “Grass-Roots Experts”, scientists and other professionals not from the governmental missions or business establishment. By showing the importance of the above two factors, the paper tries to clearly indicate why government sponsored development programs is because they cannot be sufficient by themselves, but must involve direct citizen activation and participation. In this paper, this is explained through a case study, a revolutionary local research group, the Matsumura Research Group, in the Mishima-Numazu-Shimizu (MNS) movement in 1964 in Japan from present points of views.

Key words: Risk communication, grass-roots experts, intermediary organization, MNS movement.