As a cornerstone of its activities addressing our philosophy “Quality of Society,” Dentsu Institute conducts quantitative surveys under the title “Dentsu Institute Compass” with the aim of grasping how the changes in people’s attitudes will shape society. The ninth survey themed on ‘climate anxiety’ aims to investigate and understand the impact of climate change on people’s minds and actions.

What is ‘climate anxiety’?

Regardless of whether the country or region where one lives is strongly affected by climate change, there is a psychological condition called ‘climate/eco anxiety’ that has been identified, especially among the younger generation. Climate anxiety refers to the chronic feelings of anxiety, anger, or the frustration that one has no power over the situation, which are emotions that stem from the concern or fear about the impact of climate change and how it could shape the future. There are various articles written on climate anxiety in medical and science journals as well as in the media in the US and Europe, although there are only few in Japan. The American Psychological Association has reported that more than two-thirds of Americans experience climate anxiety.^*1

Embracing the increasingly urgent issue of climate change as one’s own problem is unavoidable for all human beings living on Earth, but at the same time it causes pain and suffering. The relationship between climate change and mental health will become a theme requiring increasing attention in Japan, where natural disasters are intensifying. However, the reality is that the term ‘climate/eco anxiety’ is hardly known and preceding studies are extremely limited in Japan.

Preceding study and the objective of the survey

In 2021, researchers from Bath University and other institutions surveyed youth aged 16 to 25 in ten countries, and with the permission of Dr. Elizabeth Marks and her co-authors, the same survey was conducted in Japan by Dentsu Institute. This article introduces the survey results of respondents between 16 and 25 of age (1,000 samples in total) and compares them with the outcome of the ten-countries survey.

Results of the survey

1. 14.6% of respondents in Japan answered that they are "not worried" about climate change, the highest percentage among 11 countries surveyed.

When asked if they were "worried that climate change threatens people and the Planet" more than 80% of Generation Z in all 11 countries answered "worried." Particularly, in the Philippines, 98.2% of respondents were "extremely" or "very" worried. In Japan, it was found that 14.6% of the Z generation do not take climate change seriously, the highest percentage among the 11 countries surveyed.

2. Considerable anxiety about climate change, but negative feelings or feelings of guilt are not very great in Japan

Asked about their emotions towards climate change, a high percentage (72.6%) in Japan answered ‘anxious’, surpassing the other ten countries combined. However, intensely negative feelings such as grief, despair, or anger were lower than in the other countries surveyed. Also, guilt or shame stemming from feeling responsible for climate change is much lower than in other 10 countries combined.

3. The number of respondents in Japan who feel a negative impact on their daily lives are second to countries in the Global South

Those who responded that their feelings about climate change negatively affected their daily lives (at least one of the following: eating, concentrating, work, school, sleeping, spending time in nature, playing, having fun, relationships) totaled 49.1% in Japan, the fifth largest percentage among the 11 countries surveyed. The countries that have a higher percentage are: the Philippines, India, Nigeria, and Brazil—all belonging to the Global South.

4. In Japan 41.6% responded that they ‘don’t talk to other people about climate change’, the highest percentage among the 11 countries

Asked if they have ever been ignored or dismissed when they tried to talk about climate change, 41.6% in Japan responded that they ‘don’t talk to other people about climate change’. This was the highest percentage among the 11 countries, indicating that interest in climate change is relatively low in Japan. At the same time, those who said they have been ignored or dismissed when they tried to talk about climate change was the lowest among the 11 countries, showing that such incidents rarely occur in Japan.

5. Japan most optimistic among the 11 countries regarding their own and humanity’s future

Asked if seven statements about one’s future and the future of humanity apply, Japan scored considerably lower than the other ten countries combined in all cases. Statements with the widest gap were: ‘The things I most value will be destroyed’ (34.9 points), ‘People have failed to take care of the planet’ (31.8 points), ‘I won’t have access to the same opportunities that my parents had’ (31.4 points). Compared to the other ten countries combined, a higher proportion in Japan has a more optimistic view about climate change.

6. People who do not trust the government to deal with climate change are more pessimistic

Using the same method as the preceding study and calculating the scores by asking multiple questions, the correlation between the scores were analyzed. We found that there is a positive correlation between scores for ‘feeling betrayed by government’ and for ‘negative thoughts about climate change’. In other words, the greater one’s mistrust of the government’s response towards climate change, the more pessimistic one becomes about the impact of climate change on one’s future and the future of humanity. This tends to be true in Japan as well as in the other ten countries.

Summary

The survey results show that among the young generation in Japan, there is anxiety about climate change, but those who are seriously concerned about the specific impact to the future of humanity are far less than in the other countries surveyed. In addition, although the presence of the ‘climate anxiety’ was confirmed in Japan, people do not sufficiently recognize climate change as their own problem, and this could develop into a more serious challenge for Japan.

Climate anxiety is not a mental disorder. Such anxiety is a rational and pragmatic reaction, and it may also encourage people to review and change their own actions to counter the effects of climate change.^*2 It would be important for Japan to raise people’s awareness to the issue of climate change and metal health as well as to guide them to ‘properly fear’ the effects.

While the Global North countries, including Japan, are mostly responsible for the root cause of climate change, it is the Global South regions that are directly and unfairly affected by the consequences, such as drought, flooding, and heat waves. The impact of climate change in these areas gives rise to a chain of other problems such as food shortage, which in turn cause poverty and other existing issues to worsen. We must face the reality of the climate crisis on Earth and be more concerned and considerate to those who are in a more vulnerable position.

※１：American Psychological Association. (2020).  “Majority of US Adults Believe Climate Change Is Most Important Issue Today.” (https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2020/02/climate-change)

※2：Verplanken, B., Marks. E. & Dobromir, A. I. (2020). On the nature of eco-anxiety: How constructive or unconstructive is habitual worry about global warming? Journal of Environmental Psychology. 72:101528.

＊Each percentage in the graph was calculated using the actual number of responses and then rounded off. Furthermore, the sum of all responses was also calculated using the actual number of the sum of the overall responses and then rounded off, so it may not necessarily match the simple sum of all the percentages.

** With a 95% credibility rate and using the scores of responses with a maximum margin of error of 50%, the margin of error in the sample size of the main survey (1,000 samples each) is calculated at approximately ±4.4. Any comparison to other countries exceeding ±4.4 points is considered a significant difference.

Outline of the Survey

Survey in Japan

Title: Dentsu Institute Compass vol. 9（Survey on Climate Anxiety）
Survey period:                   12-16 October 2022
Method used:                     Internet
Survey area:                      Nationwide
Survey samples:                 5,000 respondents aged 16 – 65
（*To make international comparisons, this article used the results of 16-25 year olds (1,000 samples) for the analysis.）
Survey conducted by:         Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.

Survey in Ten Countries

Title: Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: a global survey
Survey period:                   18 May - 7 June 2021
Method used:                     Internet
Countries surveyed:           UK, Finland, France, USA, Australia, Portugal, Brazil, India, Philippines, Nigeria
Survey samples:                10,000 respondents aged 16 – 25 (1,000 samples in each country)
Survey conducted by:         Kantar

Contact

Dentsu Institute (Seiko Yamazaki, Akane Wakasugi)
E-mail : d-ii@dentsu.co.jp
URL: https://institute.dentsu.com/

Text by:  Sayuri Nakagawa