Japan Press Weekly

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2012 September 12 - 18 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

PM appoints members of new nuclear regulatory body without Diet approval

The Noda Cabinet on September 11 decided to launch a nuclear regulatory commission on September 19 and carry out the controversial plan to appoint 5 members of the commission without obtaining parliamentary approval.

In order to ensure the independence of the regulatory body, the appointment has to obtain Diet approval. When the Diet is not in session, the prime minister can choose members of the commission, but he needs to ask for Diet approved during the next session.

Noda’s selection of the commission members met with protest not only from the general public and opposition parties, but also from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan. He named former deputy Chair of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission Tanaka Shunichi, who openly declares that nuclear energy can be safety controlled, as the chairman of the new organization, and Fuketa Toyoshi of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency to also be a member of the new organization.

Wary of the possibility of rebellion within the ruling party, Noda had to give up taking a vote on the proposed appointments at the ordinary session of the Diet which was adjourned on September 8.

The Diet is not likely to vote to pass the plan. However, it does not justify the prime minister’s use of his right to select commission members and seek an ex-post facto approval from the Diet.