Japan Press Weekly

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2011 October 26 - November 1 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

NISA admits taking no measures against severe nuclear accidents

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Yoshii Hidekatsu at a meeting of the House special committee on science and technology on October 25 said that the fact that no measures were considered to tackle severe nuclear accidents has led to the present serious situation at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)’s Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Yoshii stated that the government refused to respond to the request made by him in 1999 to compile a manual on dealing with severe nuclear accidents by responding, “Japan’s nuclear power stations are safe.” He criticized the government for having abandoned state responsibility by putting the creation of the manual, including its contents, into power companies’ hands.

Yoshii stressed that in the event of a serious accident and full power loss, it is essential to keep a reactor core from overheating with a sufficient supply of cooling water.

Yoshii asked if TEPCO had the proper manual (to cope with a severe accident) in the first place.

Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency Director General Fukano Hiroyuki said, “TEPCO has the ‘severe accident manual.’ However, the company couldn’t utilize the manual because it assumed that power supply would be maintained.”

Yoshii again condemned the government for failing to take sufficient measures against the possibility of severe accidents.