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    Nuclear Dilemma

    Hisashi OTSUJI and Atsushi YAMAZAKI, College of Education, Ibaraki University, Mito, Ibaraki, JAPAN

  • Topic 1


    In 2011 a tsunami hit Japan damaging a large nuclear power plant responsible for providing energy to the entire country. You are a team leader for a company working in conjunction with this power plant, and as such, as responsible and answerable to the government, you employeers, employers, the local community and your family. What would you do?

  • Topic 2

    What is It About?


    This dilemma is set in Tokyo, Japan. It is March 2011, post-tsunami and you are a team leader for an electrical equipment company. A few days after the tsunami, you receive a phone call from the Tokyo Electrical Power Corporation (TEPCO), a corporation working in conjunction with the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. This Plant     was severely damaged during the tsunami resulting in toxic gas and radioactive chemical leaks into the atmosphere and surrounding ocean.

    Taking the role of team leader, the students are encouraged to imagine themselves in a position of authority and be answerable to a range of stakeholders such as the government, the company, employees, the local community and family.

    This activity aims to encourage students to consider the ethical implications of the energy resource industry, which faces contemporary society by:

    (1) recognizing the value of human life;

    (2) stimulating student thinking regarding social and environmental issues, work ethics and corporate responsibility;

    (3) encouraging critical thinking about the complex issues facing the energy resource industry.

  • Topic 3

    Where to Use It?


    This dilemma was designed to be used in both Science and Social Science education for high school students (14 years and older) and tertiary students.



  • Topic 4

    The Dilemma Story

  • Topic 5

    Teaching Resources