Verifying safety scientifically would take considerable time, but even without waiting for a conclusion to this question, modern society has benefited immensely through the assimilation of science. That is why we cannot look only to scientists for the correct solution when something happens. More specifically, it is society that today has the ultimate authority to make decisions and therefore, society as a whole needs to fully discuss the uses of science, rather than leaving it up to "experts."

3D spatiotemporal mapping of COVID-19 is a new approach to epidemiology developed with the aid of AI, big data, and other digital technologies. Showing on a map the geographical links between infections over time, this technique is easy to understand and indicates the trends that resulted in the waves of COVID-19 infection spreading from large cities to provincial regions, for example. Hopes are also high for the potential offered by a case density forecasting app similar to the rain radars used in weather forecasting.

Instinctive anxiety or fear when faced with unfamiliar risks is only natural, and it is perhaps inevitable that theoretical explanations do not get the message across. One factor contributing to this is the discrepancy between the risk perception of the public and the risk assessments of experts, who hitherto thought that providing scientifically accurate knowledge and information was sufficient to ensure full awareness. In light of this situation, risk communication needs to be based on mutual trust between the person delivering the message and those receiving it.

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.