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201862 https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.2.N.201862 http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ All Rights Reserved 2025 141 pages Masters Thesis Academic theses en Gui, Yiqun Lu, Junyu Xiao, Xiao Zhang, Lin Arizona State University Partial requirement for: M.S., Arizona State University, 2025 Field of study: Community Resources and Development On August 24, 2023, Japan began discharging nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi reactor into the ocean, a process anticipated to span up to 30 years. This action has elicited considerable international concern, particularly among neighboring countries. This study examines how the perceived threat of Japan’s nuclear-contaminated water influences individuals' intention to participate in coastal tourism and purchase Japanese products using a mixed-methods approach by combining quantitative surveys (n=1501) and qualitative interviews (n=40). This study extends the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) to incorporate other critical socio-psychological factors, such as subjective norms, trust in information, emotional responses, and environmentalism. Findings reveal a decline in respondents’ intentions to travel to Japan, engage in long-distance coastal tourism, plan coastal tourism activities, and purchase Japanese products post-release of nuclear-contaminated water. Specifically, susceptibility, self-efficacy, subjective norms, information-related factors, protectionist attitudes, and feelings of anxiety significantly contributed to the decreased frequency of coastal tourism and purchase intention, while the degree of favorability toward Japan significantly led to an increase in such frequency. This study provides an in-depth examination of public attitudes toward Japan’s discharge of nuclear-contaminated water and its impact on coastal tourism, offering valuable insights for tourism practitioners and policymakers. By deepening the understanding of how public perceptions of nuclear-contaminated water influence coastal tourism, this research contributes to the development of more informed strategies for industry stakeholders and policymakers. Furthermore, it sheds light on how environmental risks shape tourism behavior patterns, providing new theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence to support future research and practical applications in the field. Hospitality, Leisure, and Tourism Studies The Impact of Japan's Nuclear-contaminated Water Discharge on Coastal Tourism Intention and Japanese Product Purchase Intention