Hazardous facilities like nuclear power plants often result in the stigmatization of surrounding areas. Following the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, many consumers remain reluctant to purchase food from the affected areas, despite official assurances of safety, which become interference of recovery. Hence, countermeasures to improve such stigmatization has been required. This study aims to examine whether visual priming can mitigate nuclear-related food stigma by influencing consumer purchase preferences to improve above problem. An online randomized controlled trial with 572 Japanese consumers was conducted. Participants were assigned to one of four groups: a control group was exposed to neutral stimuli, and three experimental groups were exposed to visual stimuli designed to elicit positive emotions, empathy, or scientific thinking. After exposure, a hypothetical stigma scenario was then introduced, presenting two types of rice which were produced in two areas, one affected by a nuclear power plant accident but now officially certified as safe, and one unaffected. Purchase preferences were assessed using two approaches: a choice-based conjoint analysis, which tested the effects of price, production area, and exposure on consumer choices, and a contingent valuation method, which measured consumers' willingness to pay for rice from nuclear-affected areas. Results from the conjoint analysis indicated that exposure to stimuli related to empathy or scientific thinking significantly increased intension to buy rice from the nuclear-affected area compared to those exposed to neutral stimuli. However, results from contingent valuation only reveal a marginal increase in willingness to pay under the condition of empathy. These findings suggest that visual priming may reduce stigma at an implicit preference level, while explicit monetary valuation remains more resistant to change. The results highlight the potential of visual priming as a tool for promoting consumer acceptance of stigmatized foods and provide practical insights for recovery strategies in disaster-affected areas.