Japan's new nuclear regulation agency will be affiliated with the Environment Ministry, far from the reach of the powerful Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) that controlled the nuclear industry before the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Japan's new nuclear regulation agency will be affiliated with the Environment Ministry, far from the reach of the powerful Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) that controlled the nuclear industry before the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
The decision is a significant victory for Prime Minister Naoto Kan. He has been fighting to remove nuclear regulation from the influence of METI, which has a long history of promoting nuclear energy.
Some within the government had been pressing for the agency to be put under the Cabinet Office, but the idea was rejected in part because of the greater presence there of METI bureaucrats.
After final discussions between relevant ministers, the Kan Cabinet is expected to approve placing the new agency under the Environment Agency as early as Aug. 15.
Initial plans had called for the agency to be put under the Environment Agency, but Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano and others wanted it under the Cabinet Office, which they said would increase its independence.
A proposal released on Aug. 5 by Goshi Hosono, the state minister in charge of the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, put forward both proposals.
In subsequent discussions, Hosono pointed out the advantages of placing the agency under the Environment Agency, focusing on four main arguments.
One was that the Environment Ministry had fewer ties with the electric power industry. The second was the existence of the Tohoku Regional Environment Office in Sendai, near Fukushima.
Another reason was that, with the environment minister in charge of the agency, there would be no need to increase the number of state ministers in the Cabinet. The final argument pointed to the example of Germany, which has a federal ministry in charge of both the environment and nuclear safety.
Edano eventually consented to the Environment Ministry proposal, accepting the compatibility between environmental administration and nuclear regulatory administration.
On Aug. 11, Hosono explained his intentions to a study group in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and obtained its approval.
The new agency will merge what is now the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency with the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan, now under the Cabinet Office. Parts of the science and technology ministry that handle the monitoring of radiation levels will also be merged into the new agency. A new advisory panel to the agency will be established.
Legislation to create the new agency could be submitted to the Diet as early as this autumn. Government officials are seeking to have the new agency up and running by April.
Kan, who is expected to step down soon as prime minister, was keen to decide the structure before leaving office. He has been pressing for the elimination of any influence from METI over the new agency.
Environment Ministry officials are already laying the groundwork for the new agency, which will greatly increase its authority.
A bureau director-general at the Environment Ministry has already been appointed to oversee its creation, and ministry officials are considering setting up a special assignment team after Cabinet approval is received.
Ministry officials are also considering personnel guidelines that would allow for an exchange of bureaucrats between the Environment Ministry and the new agency as well as preventing any bureaucrats dispatched from METI who take high-ranking positions at the new agency from returning to METI.
A high-ranking Environment Ministry official said: "Handling of administrative matters in a manner that leads to doubts among the public will not be allowed."
Supporters of the idea of placing the new agency under the Cabinet Office said one advantage was the existence of experts in crisis management in that office. The Cabinet Office was also seen as better at coordinating other ministries' actions because it already serves as a control tower within the central government.
Political considerations also turned the tide toward the Environment Ministry.
Establishing the new agency will be dependent on the passage of legislation in the Diet. The opposition New Komeito will likely be more open toward the Environment Ministry proposal because it has itself proposed merging the METI sections dealing with energy matters with the Environment Ministry.
Because METI officials are regularly dispatched to work in the Cabinet Office, it would have been much more difficult to eliminate METI influence over the new agency if it was placed under the Cabinet Office.
However, one high-ranking official at the Environment Ministry admitted that they are prepared for considerable confusion in the early stages of the new agency.
One challenge will be a lack of bureaucrats who are knowledgeable about nuclear energy administration and safety regulations for nuclear power plants. For that reason, the Environment Ministry will have to depend initially on bureaucrats dispatched from METI.
Questions are also being raised about the Environment Ministry's ability to effectively oversee the new agency. The ministry now has about 800 bureaucrats, while the new agency is expected to have a staff of about 400 individuals.
The Environment Ministry will also have to recruit staff with knowledge of nuclear crisis management and of protecting people from radioactivity.