Confrontation in a Village

Doubt against power companies makes scientists aggressive. A team of specialists in the Nuclear Regulation Authority generally agreed on a judgment that a fault right beneath the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant was active. That means the plant can be dismantled because of possible earthquake. The decision was based on a new standard of assessing the danger of nuclear plant, which was set after the accident of the First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. This is a struggle inside a group of people who interested in nuclear power, or “nuclear village,” in which scientists are regaining its credibility leaving skepticism on power company unsolved.

The specialists group led by Kunihiko Shimazaki, honorary professor of Tokyo University in seismology and the deputy chairman of the authority, adopted on Monday the assessment report of Tsuruga, which acknowledged high possibility of the D-1 fault under the second reactor of the plant to have been moved 95 thousand years ago. The guideline of national government prohibits building nuclear plant on an movable active fault. It also defines an active fault that moved after 120-130 thousand years ago should be recognized as moving in the future.

The Japan Atomic Power Company, which owns Tsuruga plant, is making argument about the report. According to Tokyo Shimbun, one of the officials protested indicating a possibility of political intervention, saying “The authority is one of the governmental organization. It under the control of Prime Minister.” But the decision of the group would not be overturned, and the fortune of Tsuruga still is going to dismantlement.

Power Companies in Japan has been complaining to new stricter standard. Before the Fukushima accident, they could build new plants on an active fault by regarding it to be unmovable. The authority, established after Fukushima accident, shifted its stance to “the safety side.” As long as a fault is determined not to be active, the authority would not allow a nuclear plant on it. This hard attitude against plant owners has certain public support, because the power companies have not made much effort to release information to the public, but have only been lobbying to lawmakers and bureaucrats.

“For Japan, the most important subject for preventing severe accident in nuclear plant is preparation for earthquake and tsunami. In this point of view, we have to request strict measures,” commented the chairman of the authority, Shun-ichi Tanaka, in an interview of Asahi Shimbun. Tanaka had been recognized as one of the residents of the Nuclear village. But he was born in Fukushima. It is possible that he has shifted from technological development to preserving safety, after losing his beautiful hometown. A lot of people are watching the opposition among nuclear specialists, expecting the village to move its viewpoint from national project to ordinary citizens.