Only every fifth Russian trusts the information about the Fukushima disaster provided by Japanese government.
MOSCOW, April 4, 2011. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the information on how Russians assess the information about the situation in Japan, provided by the Japanese authorities, whether the authorities should reveal the whole truth about the situation or conceal truth not to cause panic.
Only every fifth Russian regards the information provided by the Japanese authorities about the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant objective (19%). Those who trust this information are mainly respondents with low level of education (25%) and residents of big cities (24%).
The majority consider the Japanese government does not disclose the whole truth (69%). Those who are skeptical are respondents with high level of education (71%), metropolitan and big cities residents (69-71%). Only 4% state that the Japanese authorities exaggerate the consequences of the disaster.
According to the majority of Russians, the authorities should not conceal the scale of crisis or catastrophes in case they happens (61%). Those who share such a stance are non-parliament parties' partisans (69%) and absentees (65%), as well as residents of middle cities (65%). Every third believe that the government of the country has the right to hide certain facts to avoid panic (33%). Those who think so are mainly supporters of LDPR (39%) and CPRF (36%) parties, as well as rural area residents (36%), rather than those living in Moscow or Saint-Petersburg (29%).
The initiative Russian opinion polls were conducted on 26-27 March, 2011. 1600 respondents were interviewed at 138 sampling points in 46 regions of Russia. The margin oferror does not exceed 3.4%.
How do you assess the information at the Fukushima power plant which is provided by the Japanese authorities? (close-ended question, one answer) | |||||
| Total respondents | Education | |||
Elementary, or lower, incomplete secondary education | Secondary (school, technical college) | Secondary special (college) | Incomplete higher (not less than 3 years), higher | ||
Japanese authorities provide complete and objective information about the situation at the Fukushima power plant. | 19 | 25 | 18 | 18 | 20 |
Japanese authorities exaggerate the effect of the disaster, cause panic | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
Japanese authorities do not tell the whole truth about the situation at the Fukushima power plant underestimating the real scale of the catastrophe | 69 | 59 | 69 | 69 | 71 |
Hard to tell | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 |
Some people think that in case of catastrophes or mass epidemics the authorities should tell the whole truth about what happens. The other people think that the truth should be concealed not to cause panic. In your opinion, what should the authorities do? (close-ended question, one answer) | |||||||
| Total respondents | Parties` supporters | |||||
CPRF | LDPR | Fair Russia | United Russia | Non-parliament parties | I would not participate in elections | ||
The population has the right to know the truth in any situation; the truth should not be concealed anyway | 61 | 59 | 54 | 61 | 62 | 69 | 65 |
The authorities should think about the consequences and can conceal the truth for a period of time if it helps avoid panic and decrease the number of victims | 33 | 36 | 39 | 33 | 33 | 28 | 32 |
Hard to tell | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory!