Exploring Factors Shaping Interest in Water Resource Management in Japan

Public cooperation is essential for supporting measures for water resources’ protection, efficient management, and development, and it requires an understanding of the public’s characteristics associated with perceived investment in such measures. We conducted a comprehensive survey of the Japanese public to assess perceptions toward investment in climate change, aging water pipe measures, and associated factors. In February 2022, 5,573 individuals in Japan were surveyed using a cross-sectional study design. We conducted an exploratory investigation to analyze the willingness to pay (WTP) for climate change and aging water pipe measures; sociodemographic factors and water-related variables incorporating experience, perceptions, and practices were included as factors. Additionally, free-response statements provided a detailed categorization of the types of pride in water, which were strongly associated with WTP for both measures. Among the types of pride, beauty/nature and abundance were associated with WTP. Furthermore, perceived advances in water-related social changes, such as infrastructure facilities over the past 50 years, and daily water-saving and disaster-prevention practices were positively associated with WTP. Comprehensive policies should promote climate change and aging waterpipe measures through information dissemination and education to encourage water-related pride, a sense of the effectiveness of water-saving measures, and daily practices among the public.