Persistent bickering over how to oversee the power industry has forced the government to shelve plans to establish a new nuclear regulatory agency on April 1 and delay other changes regarding nuclear safety.
Persistent bickering over how to oversee the power industry has forced the government to shelve plans to establish a new nuclear regulatory agency on April 1 and delay other changes regarding nuclear safety.
Talks through March 21 between the governing Democratic Party of Japan and main opposition Liberal Democratic Party led to an agreement to enact 10 bills in the Diet that the Noda Cabinet wants to pass by the end of March, including one related to tariffs.
But the nuclear safety bill, which was drawn up in light of the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, was excluded.
“The (nuclear) legislation was supposed to start on April 1, but it failed to gain support,” Koriki Jojima, chairman of the DPJ Diet Affairs Committee, told reporters.
The government plans to abolish the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and set up a new nuclear watchdog as an external agency of the Environment Ministry. The relationship between NISA and the industry ministry, which has actively promoted the use of nuclear power, was cited as one reason why the Fukushima plant was unprepared for the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
Under the government’s plan, the Cabinet would still be allowed some involvement in the new nuclear safety agency. But some members of the LDP and New Komeito insisted that the new watchdog be almost completely independent from the Cabinet.
The two sides failed to narrow the gap on this issue.
Until the new watchdog is established, NISA and other bodies will continue to supervise nuclear plants.
The nuclear bill also includes new safety standards, such as limiting the operation of nuclear reactors to 40 years, in principle.
It also calls for forming disaster-preparation programs in areas near nuclear plants and asks nuclear plant operators to implement safety steps under the new standards.
Since the establishment of the new agency has been put on hold, such medium- and long-term measures will also be delayed.
In addition, there are views in both camps that the nuclear safety bill should reflect a report that a Diet committee investigating the Fukushima disaster is expected to issue in June. That also darkened prospects for the bill’s passage during the current Diet session.