Public acceptance of science is a big issue right now. It would be fair to say that the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was a major trigger for the debate. Scientists were completely at a loss as to what they should tell local citizens and how they should communicate it. Professor Kenji Kamiya, Vice President of both Hiroshima University and Fukushima Medical University, has spent the 10 years since the accident devoting his energies to risk communication as a radiation health risk management advisor. We asked him to reflect on the nature of the relationship between the public and science.