The novel “Genpatsu Whiteout” (Nuclear power plant whiteout) created a buzz in 2013, not only because of its message that the nuclear industry is in bed with politicians, but also because the mysterious author appeared to be a government bureaucrat in the know.
The novel “Genpatsu Whiteout” (Nuclear power plant whiteout) created a buzz in 2013, not only because of its message that the nuclear industry is in bed with politicians, but also because the mysterious author appeared to be a government bureaucrat in the know.
The fictional story, written by Retsu Wakasugi, a pseudonym, was published by Kodansha Ltd. in September last year and revolves around the rush to restart Japan’s nuclear reactors and the vulnerability of the nation’s nuclear facilities to a terrorist attack.
Wakasugi declined an interview request this time due to fears of the author that his identity would be compromised.
But the weekly magazine Aera, published by Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc., scored a meeting with the author at year's end following assurances that his identity would remain concealed and that personal information on his ID card would be blacked out in any photos.
Even though it’s just a novel, the book created a stir in government circles because the author described how politicians and the government operate in such a way that only an insider would know.
In the book, Wakasugi details a “monster system,” whereby the electric power industry controls politicians with the revenues it generates from its customers.
One such example of the symbiotic relationship of the so-called “nuclear village” (the utility, politicians, government bureaucrats, academics and others who have vested interests in promoting nuclear power generation), is described in the book as revolving around the prototype Monju fast-breeder reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture.
The controversial reactor, which has been virtually mothballed for over a decade due to safety issues, uses materials from reprocessed spent nuclear fuel and is a pillar of the nation’s nuclear waste recycling program. Among some government officials, the plant is also referred to as a “doodlebug,” meaning the project is a money pit.
In the book, Wakasugi quoted a bureaucrat of the secretariat of the Nuclear Regulation Authority as saying, “If we continue to operate conventional nuclear power plants, the byproduct will be nuclear waste that will emit radiation for 100,000 years. That is why Monju is so important. And to continue to maintain the nuclear village’s bread-and-butter lifeline, we have to continue promoting the need for the Monju reactor. Unless we do so, the nuclear power myth will collapse.”
A budget examiner for the Finance Ministry said in November 2011 when the government was sorting out its policies, “Every year, 20 billion yen (about $200 million) is necessary just to maintain it (Monju) without doing any studies. Since 1980, more than 1 trillion yen has been spent (on Monju). But no achievements have been made. Can we justify its cost-benefit performance to the public?”
A handout distributed during the policy discussions described the flow of money to heavy electric machinery makers and other companies.
For example, about 1.5 billion yen is paid to one company every year to inspect fuel equipment and other machinery. About 700 million yen is paid to another company to inspect the cooling system and other equipment. ... The payments total about 20 billion yen every year.
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency, which operates Monju, has many associated companies where officials from the agency land jobs after they retire. In sorting out the government’s policies, drastic proposals were raised, including whether to continue research and development at the Monju facility.
In the novel “Genpatsu Whiteout,” a bureaucrat with the secretariat of the Nuclear Regulation Authority says, “I think that people in the nuclear village will start up operations again at the Monju facility by instituting a name change, (from Monju) to something like a fast reactor.”
In an interview with the monthly magazine Sekai’s extra edition, which went on sale in December 2013, Wakasugi was asked whether the government’s energy policies changed after the Democratic Party of Japan assumed power in 2009.
“Many politicians depend on this money-collecting system (of the electric power industry)," he replied. "Because of that, electric power companies maintain a veto over the government’s policies.”