Global InformationJapanese Nuclear Safety Commission information
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Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission (原子力安全委員会, Genshiryoku Anzen Iinkai) was a commission established within the Cabinet of Japan as an independent agency to play the main role in nuclear safety administration. Commissioners are appointed by the Prime Minister of Japan on Diet approval. The commission has stronger authority than any other ordinary advisory committees, in that the commission can make recommendations to relevant agencies in the name of the prime minister if it is necessary.
The Nuclear Safety Commission reviews safety inspections conducted by regulatory agencies, such as the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
In 2007, the independence of the Nuclear Safety Commission was questioned by seismologist Professor Katsuhiko Ishibashi, after a senior Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency official appeared to rule out a new review of the NSC's seismic design standards.[3]
Madarame Haruki, as chairman of the Nuclear Safety Commission (2010–2012), was an ardent pro-nuclear advocate. However, his inquiry testimony in the Diet in February 2012, showed that he had become critical of the commission's approach. He said that "Japan's atomic safety rules are inferior to global standards and left the country unprepared for the Fukushima nuclear disaster last March". There were flaws in, and lax enforcement of, the safety rules governing Japanese nuclear power companies, and this included insufficient protection against tsunamis.[4] He said the nuclear power industry had strenuously opposed adopting stricter international safety standards. He spoke of officials ignoring nuclear risks and said, "We ended up wasting our time looking for excuses that these measures are not needed in Japan".[5]
Madarame also asserted that Japan's safety monitoring technology is outdated, while acknowledging that the Nuclear Safety Commission had, "…succumbed to a blind belief in the country’s technical prowess and failed to thoroughly assess the risks of building nuclear reactors in an earthquake-prone country".[5] Regulators and the utilities missed many opportunities to improve operating safety standards and warned that safety regulations are fundamentally inadequate and minimally enforced. He also asserted that regulatory capture was an issue, where regulators had little power and were often subsumed by utility interests. In Madarame's view, there has been a collective heedlessness about safety and inadequate risk management.[5]
It was reported that the government plans to merge the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency with the Nuclear Safety Commission, to create a new nuclear safety agency, under the environment ministry, by April 2012.[6] The Nuclear Regulation Authority was created on September 19, 2012.[7]
- ^ Tomoko Yamazaki and Shunichi Ozasa (June 27, 2011). "Fukushima Retiree Leads Anti-Nuclear Shareholders at Tepco Annual Meeting". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2011-06-30. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
- ^ Mari Saito (May 7, 2011). "Japan anti-nuclear protesters rally after PM call to close plant". Reuters. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ Katsuhiko Ishibashi, "Why worry? Japan's nuclear plants at grave risk from quake damage" Archived 2011-04-14 at the Wayback Machine The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus (August 11, 2007) Also published by the International Herald Tribune (August 11, 2007). Retrieved March 24, 2011
- ^ "Nuclear Safety Chief Says Lax Rules Led to Fukushima Crisis". Bloomberg. 16 February 2012.[dead link]
- ^ a b c Jeff Kingston, "Japan's Nuclear Village Archived 2014-03-29 at the Wayback Machine," The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 10, Issue 37, No. 1, September 10, 2012.
- ^ Tsuyoshi Inajima (August 3, 2011). "Japan May Create New Nuclear Watchdog by April, Asahi Reports". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
- ^ Asashi Shimbun Japan gets a new nuclear safety body, now needs to write rules September 20, 2012 Archived September 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on September 24, 2012