nuclear-news

Japan authorities passing the buck on decision-making about nuclear restart

Government tries to duck reactor-restart decisions Fujimura hints decision rests with new body, Japan Times By MASAMI ITO, 7 October 12,  Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura suggested Thursday that the central government does not have the ultimate say, or responsibility, in reactivating nuclear reactors, triggering confusion over who is in charge of making the decision.

At a news conference, Fujimura repeatedly stressed that the new Nuclear Regulation Authority is in charge of assessing the safety of reactors and that power companies are only tasked with explaining reactor restarts to host municipalities and seeking their consent.

But Fujimura refused to clarify the government’s precise role in the process, saying only that once the safety of a reactor has been confirmed by the NRA, it will be brought back online.”As I have
repeatedly stated, confirming the safety of reactors is the most
important thing when considering a reactivation, and the NRA is in
charge of making a decision over their safety as an independent
entity,” Fujimura said. “The government has decided to utilize nuclear
reactors that have been confirmed as a safe source of power.”

But Fujimura repeatedly refused to give a straight answer when asked
whether the government is ultimately responsible for approving reactor
restarts, reiterating that units judged to be safe would be “used as a
source of energy.”

“In terms of giving approval, that duty has shifted from the trade
minister and the (now-defunct) Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency to
the regulatory committee that is now in charge of authorizing” reactor
restarts, Fujimura said, dumping the responsibility squarely on the
NRA.

But this view was flatly contradicted by the NRA just a day before,
when its new head, Shunichi Tanaka, stated that its responsibility is
to scientifically assess the safety of nuclear reactors and that
ultimate responsibility to authorize restarts does not lie with the
nuclear watchdog.

Restarting reactors “is a major decision that must be made by
somebody, and I believe that our safety assessment plays an important
role in making that judgement,” Tanaka said. “But to reactivate the
reactors, there are various issues to consider, including gaining
permission from local residents and municipal officials, and that is
beyond the bounds of our authority.”……

October 8, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, politics