Thinking from the perspective of imaginary future generations changes the public perception of sustainable management of water supply infrastructure – A large-scale questionnaire survey in a municipality of Japan

The aim of the present study was to apply the perspective of Imaginary Future Generations (IFGs), a method that has proved effective in generating “futurability,” to a large-scale questionnaire survey of residents in a Japanese municipality, in order to analyze the influence of IFGs on attitudes toward water supply infrastructure maintenance and management, the willingness to pay higher water rates, and attitudes toward regional integration of water supply services. In questionnaires distributed to 2,000 randomly selected households in Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, respondents were asked to answer questions from the perspectives of both current generations and IFGs. The responses were then compared to statistically analyze the effects of adopting the perspective of IFGs. The results showed that incorporating the perspective of future generations makes it possible to increase the degree of acceptance among residents of increases in water rates, regional integration of water supply services, and other essential issues related to the management of water supply infrastructure, as well as to enable more flexible consideration of long-term water supply initiatives. The present study also demonstrated the influence of the pattern of description of the future society. For the group of respondents that held a pessimistic vision of the future from the perspective of IFGs, the effectiveness of applying IFGs for increasing support for water rate increases and the perception of a water rate increase being acceptable (%) was particularly high. These results can offer valuable insights for future examination of policies relating to sustainable water supply infrastructure maintenance. • A large-scale questionnaire survey of residents in a Japanese city was conducted • Effects of adopting the Imaginary Future Generations (IFGs) method were analyzed • Adoption of IFGs increased the degree of acceptance of water rates increases • Patterns of describing a future society influenced the effects of adopting IFGs • Findings provide insights into policies for maintaining a sustainable water supply