Fukushima Wasterwater Discharge Service Analysis
About the Project
Through primary and secondary research, we discovered a critical issue: customers avoid buying local Japanese seafood due to wastewater discharge, negatively impacting the fishing industry.
Initiating the "current state" phase, we developed a stakeholder map and ecosystem map to explore opportunities for the Japanese fishing industry to recover. Considering three distinct options, we visualized potential solutions for the "future state" phase, utilizing a storyboard and co-creation workshop to refine the service blueprint and ensure a thorough understanding of the customer journey.
My Role
Service Designer
Time Frame
10 weeks
Fall 2023
Tools Used
Figma
Figjam
Miro
Zoom
Design Process
Establishing Scope
Industry Research
Primary Research
Stakeholder and Core Actor Analysis
Current State Mapping
Defining Opportunities
Storyboarding
Future State Mapping
Co-Creation Workshop
Scope
Our team of three enacted as a hired design team for this project:
"The government has taken proactive steps by hiring a design team to thoroughly investigate the challenges faced by Fukushima's fishermen in the wake of the ongoing wastewater discharge issue.
This design team has been entrusted with the task of identifying and presenting potential solutions to the government, aiming to address the concerns and issues affecting the local fishing community."
Objectives
01
02
03
To comprehensively assess the challenges and issues faced by Fukushima's fishermen due to ongoing wastewater discharge.
To identify and propose viable solutions and strategies to mitigate these challenges and issues.
To collaborate with relevant stakeholders, including government agencies, local fishermen, and environmental experts, to ensure a holistic approach to problem-solving.
Background:
The Fukushima Nuclear Incident
In 2011, there was a serious nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan, making it the second-worst nuclear disaster after Chernobyl in 1986.
Why Japan Must Discharge Nuclear Water Now
The treated nuclear wastewater, used to cool damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant after a decade-old earthquake, contains tritium and possibly other radioactive traces.
Japan claims it is safe to release, as storage tanks are 98% full and could reach capacity by February. TEPCO emphasizes that the tanks occupy critical space needed for decommissioning plans.
Industry Analysis
The Fukushima region is experiencing a growing demand for labor across several key industries as it transitions and recovers from the 2011 disaster.
Primary Research: Survey
Sending out a survey to Japanese residents helped us gather first-hand insights and perspectives on Fukushima's ongoing wastewater discharge issue.
Current State:
Stakeholder Map
Our primary and secondary findings offer a comprehensive view of the situation. As we move forward with a transactional communication model, it will help guide and validate our current state analysis as we co-create with our stakeholders.
Through stakeholder mapping, we identified actors across four tiers—core, national, involved, and informed—allowing us to refine our focus on core stakeholders.
Current State:
Customer Journey Map
Moments Of Truth
Customers begin the process by searching for information in the news or internet, seeking friends and family opinions, and/or scroll on social media to understand the quality of the fish provided by the local fishermen. Based on the information they've learned, they decide whether its safe to buy the fish.
The local fishing industry is making efforts to guarantee the safety of their fish by imposing a limit of 50 becquerels per kilogram, which is considerably stricter than the national government's allowable limit of 100 becquerels per kilogram.
The government is making an effort to assist local fishermen by offering subsidies, which is a move that the fishermen appreciate. However, this is not their desired solution.
Current State: Ecosystem Map
The purpose of creating our service ecosystem map is to visually and comprehensively depict the complex network of actors, systems, and processes involved in addressing the challenges faced by Fukushima's fishermen due to ongoing wastewater discharge. This map provides a clear and holistic view of the interconnected elements and their interactions within the ecosystem.
Goals
01
02
03
Identify Key Stakeholders
Highlight Interactions
Identify Gaps and Opportunities
Defining Opportunities
Visualizing the Future State
Opportunity 1, focusing on bolstering credibility, was chosen to move forward with for the future state service. The potential solution proved relatively feasible and most impactful.
Storyboarding
Our story is about a regular local Japanese customer, Philip, and a local fisherman named Jake. In the initial scenes, the Fukushima discharge project began, and Philip struggles to find reliable information online confirming the safety of consuming fish. Consequently, Philip decides to stop purchasing seafood for a period, impacting local sales and leaving Jake disheartened.
In the fourth scene, at a global conference, Japan requests other countries to conduct research and publish papers affirming the safety of their seafood. Eventually, Philip comes across news saying the Fukushima project as safe, which made him to resume purchasing Japanese seafood.
Future State Ecosystem Map
Goals
01
02
03
Visualize Opportunities
Identify New Actors
Compare Scopes of Different Opportunities
Refining Future State Concepts through Co-Creation Workshop
Future State: Service Blueprint
Creating a future state service blueprint allowed us to further visualize how the relationships of stakeholders can foster solutions. Developing this artifact also helps to take the backstage and support processes into account within the service.
Objectives
01
02
03
Visualize WOW moments
Consider interactions of backstage and support processes
Determine key interactions for proposed solution
Future State:
Customer Journey Map
Our future state customer journey map illustrates the positive effect of the proposed solution on local Japanese customers.
Focus:
Our future state customer journey map focuses on the research phase of our original customer journey map.
Reflection
Dealing with a complex and multi-faceted topic challenged me to grow in combining visual and verbal communication methods. Our team facilitated understanding among stakeholders by providing the background they needed to contribute to co-creation. I also saw how efficiently progress can happen when research is translated into visuals.