The following is an article I discovered while searching for information on Yoshiko Sakurai's aforementioned article, which is a must-read for all Japanese citizens.
The "Wall of Idiots" Nuclear Regulatory Commission Left in Power by the DPJ
February 05, 2014
While former Prime Minister Hosokawa and others in the Tokyo gubernatorial election are calling for "stopping the restart of nuclear power plants," the Abe administration's policy is to "restart nuclear power plants deemed safe by the Nuclear Regulation Authority.
However, as we wrote in this column, there is no such thing as a restart review.
What the NRC is doing is a safety review of the new regulatory standards that came into effect in 2013, which is separate from the operation of the reactors.
The safety review should be conducted while the plant is in operation.
However, in the "Basic Policy for Enforcement of New Nuclear Power Plant Regulations (private draft)," Chairman Shunichi Tanaka of the Regulatory Commission states, "At the stage of enforcement of new regulations, all necessary functions for design basis accident prevention and severe accident prevention (including those caused by large-scale natural disasters and terrorism) are required to be provided. Nuclear power plants that do not meet the criteria of the regulations are deemed not to meet the preconditions for resumption of operation," it says.
The new regulations (safety standards) came into effect in July 2013. Still, no nuclear power plant "has all the necessary functions" at this stage and thus does not meet the preconditions for resumption of operation.
In other words, the Regulatory Commission must have the plant apply for a new installation permit from scratch and undergo a review, and until that is completed, it cannot be operated.
Let me use a building example for simplicity.
Let's say your house is 40 years old and needs to meet the earthquake resistance standards of the Building Standard Law.
One day, a government official will come to you and say, "From today onward, we will require all houses everywhere to meet all the necessary earthquake resistance standards, so please submit your house for building certification again. Until you pass that review, you will be evicted." You will be homeless.
That is what Mr. Tanaka is talking about.
The Constitution prohibits such retroactive application of new laws, but in the case of nuclear power plants, the backfitting of new standards may be conditionally allowed.
The law specifies exceptions only when the public interest in enhancing safety exceeds the damage to the power company.
Tanaka's proposal, however, makes all nuclear power plants illegal without such consideration or legal action.
Furthermore, this private proposal is a memo that is not even part of the committee's rules.
The Regulatory Commission can do whatever it wants if such arbitrary administrative guidance is allowed.
If they want to decommission a nuclear power plant owned by a power company they don't like, they can create a safety standard that would make it a violation and declare, "From this day forward, you are in violation."
When I showed Tanaka's private plan to former bureaucrats, they were all surprised.
It is not even a public document.
Chairman Tanaka, who is from an engineering department, may not know that back fitting is a dangerous regulation that borders on a violation of the Constitution.
It was not his personal idea but reflected the will of the then DPJ administration.
In an interview with the Hokkaido Shimbun last April 30, former Prime Minister Kan responded.
If you ask whether [nuclear power plants] will return to their former state, the answer is no.
There is no way that 10 or 20 reactors will be restarted.
The DPJ left in place a system that will not return to normal so quickly.
The symbol of this is the Nuclear Regulation Authority, which was created by destroying the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
[Omitted]
The LDP also supported the establishment of an independent Nuclear Regulation Commission.
It cannot be undone now.
As he says, the Nuclear Regulation Commission is a highly independent Article 3 commission (a commission with the same status as the ministries as stipulated in Article 3 of the National Government Organization Law), so no government agency can touch it.
Since the vast human resources of Kasumigaseki are not available, the committee members are "private stores" and do as they please.
The Regulatory Commission is a "wall of idiots" left behind by the DPJ to protect "zero nuclear power" even after they left power.
The LDP also agreed because Yasuhisa Shiozaki of the LDP wrote the law establishing the commission.
Anti-nuclear groups also agreed with his idea of creating a Japanese version of the NRC, but METI did not cooperate.
Therefore, Shiozaki, who could not write laws, outsourced the law to a private company to establish the NRC.
It is a common belief in Japan that an independent administrative committee of experts cannot function because knowledge is stored in organizations. Still, the Regulatory Commission proved this to be true spectacularly.
Meanwhile, 10 billion yen in fuel costs are being lost daily, and the Japanese economy is sinking.
The prime minister's office has begun to think that something must be done, but they must ignore Tanaka's private plan.
No law or cabinet decision is needed for that.
All Prime Minister Abe needs to do is hold a press conference and say, "From today, please operate nuclear power plants according to the law.
7/30/2024 in Onomichi
