Empathy fatigue in ecosystem conservation: The awareness decline among concerns over Japan's nuclear wastewater
Jihong Chen1, Yu Wang2, Junliang Pan2
1College of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518061, China.
Abstract:
Ecosystem conservation entails maintaining human-nature harmonious coexistence. Its primary challenge lies in addressing human awareness and individuals' empathy fatigue within the process. Although existing research has demonstrated the significance of ecosystem, concerns over its destruction, and awareness of conservation, only insufficient attentions paid on its sustainability. Therefore, this study proposes that awareness decline leads to empathy fatigue in human-nature harmonious coexistence. Integrating empathy theory and the concept of fatigue, a model has been introduced to understand the empathy fatigue. Guided by this framework, this study employs a mixed-methods approach combining natural language processing and qualitative analysis. Taking Japan's nuclear wastewater discharge-a case exemplifying the awareness decline-as its subject, it explores core questions: user segmentation, the evolution of discourse patterns, and underlying mechanisms. This study continuously monitored and collected 2227 valid comments from YouTube between January 2021 and November 2025. It constructed a three-tier mechanism model- "attention bubble-cascading exit-discourse coreization" -based on four dimensions: structural fragility, exit timing, discourse evolution, and mechanism integration, validating the empathy fatigue framework. This study reveals the evolutionary path of public environmental engagement shifting from "emotion-driven mass participation" to "cognition-driven elite participation". It identifies key factors and their roles within attribution mechanisms, including responsibility allocation, user commitment levels, discourse rationalization, and empathy transformations. By proposing the theory of empathy fatigue, this study interprets the dual-dimensional structure of decreased affective empathy fatigue and increased cognitive empathy in ecosystem conservation, providing significant insights for interpreting and practicing long-term communication and participation mechanisms in ecosystem conservation.
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