Japan Press Weekly

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2011 August 3 - 16 [POLITICS]

Shii calls for a truly independent nuclear regulatory organ

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on August 4 in his views on the government’s decision to separate the present nuclear regulatory organ from the nuclear promoting ministry demanded that the existing organ be dismantled and that a truly independent body steer the course to break away from nuclear power generation.

The government is, reportedly, considering separating the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and setting up a nuclear safety agency under the Ministry of Environment (MOE).

Shii pointed out that MOE has promoted nuclear power generation by presenting it as a clean source of energy that contributes to cutting CO2 emissions, and argued that to simply install a new organ under this ministry will not automatically lead appropriate regulations on nuclear power.

Shii went on to say that if the new organ inherits the same structure and the same personnel from the NISA, the separation will not mean anything.

Therefore, Shii proposed that a truly independent regulatory agency be established as a driving force to pursue a course for a Japan without nuclear power generation.