Plans are afoot to set up a new agency under the Environment Ministry to take over most administrative aspects of nuclear power generation.
Plans are afoot to set up a new agency under the Environment Ministry to take over most administrative aspects of nuclear power generation.
By eliminating the clout of the industry ministry, the government hopes to ease public concern about the way the industry operates following the March 11 disaster that triggered a nuclear crisis.
The new agency would combine the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), an arm of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan (NSC) under the Cabinet Office, sources said.
That, in a single stroke, would diminish the influence of the industry ministry, which champions nuclear power. It would also strengthen safety regulation functions.
The new organizational setup will likely be in place in April.
Goshi Hosono, state minister in charge of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, is expected to release an outline of the proposed realignment next week, at the earliest.
The move, which is being made at the behest of Prime Minister Naoto Kan, faces uncertainty because it is expected to draw resistance from various ministries and agencies.
The NISA, which regulates electric power companies, would be integrated with the NSC, which in turn sets guidelines on regulations that the NISA implements. The new entity would be part of the Environment Ministry.
A senior Democratic Party of Japan official said the realignment offers the best way to draw a clear line between regulation and promotion of nuclear power because the Environment Ministry is not involved in such policies.
Also under consideration is a plan to integrate the nuclear safety division of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology into the new agency.
Within the government, officials will likely also have to discuss how best to deal with the Japan Atomic Energy Commission under the Cabinet Office, which takes charge of nuclear power promotion policies.
The Environment Ministry was tasked with overseeing the disposal of radioactive rubble following the March 11 disaster.
If the realignment is carried out, the ministry would have more input on two key issues concerning nuclear power: regulatory matters and the disposal of radioactive rubble.
The government is keen to win backing for the plan from the opposition New Komeito because that party has called for assigning energy-related divisions of the industry ministry to the Environment Ministry.
An initial plan to reattach the NISA to the Cabinet Office still remains an option. But the prevailing view is that it would not help to eliminate the clout of the industry ministry because the Cabinet Office lacks expert staff and frequently shuffles personnel with the industry ministry.
The government, hurt by the scandal over the role the NISA played in the manipulation of public opinion in favor of nuclear power at public forums, is set to press ahead with the option of integration and reattachment to the Environment Ministry.
The NSC, meanwhile, serves in a supervisory role vis-a-vis the NISA's regulations. The proposed integration centers on how to redefine the two functions currently carried out by these two separate organizations.