Not Regulation, But Condition

While it should be a list of limitations, it was recognized as a starting gun for resuming halted nuclear reactors in each power plant. The Nuclear Regulation Authority released the new regulation standard for nuclear power plants on Wednesday, which was considered with the lessons from the accident in the First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant two years ago. Leaving a number of sufferers from the tragic accident, the nuclear village in Japan is making a great advance to their revival.

The new regulation looks reasonable at a glance. It requires a specific safety facility, vent system with filter and superbly earthquake-proof seawall to every nuclear power plant. The research of active faults underground should be done in the layer of four hundred years ago or older. A reactor needs to be scrapped forty years from its starting point with a possibility of twenty-year extension. Back-fit principle, which requires the application of new knowledge to older system, is introduced to the regulation. But all of them are not for overcoming every possible disaster, leaving the possibility of human error that fundamentarily caused the disaster two yard ago. It will somehow be activated on 8^th of July.

The power plant companies are delighted with the news of new regulation, because they realize that as conditions for resuming their reactors. There are only two reactors working now among fifty reactors in seventeen nuclear power plants owned by ten companies in Japan. It is expected that four companies are submitting the request of resuming twelve reactors in six plants in July. The Nuclear Regulation Authority will examine those requests. The conclusion will be delivered by the government of Japan with consideration of opinions from local communities around the plants.

The Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, has not backed off his willingness of resuming nuclear reactors. His government has been reiterating that it would resume reactors after safety would be reconfirmed. In background are there pressures from nuclear community in Japan, including power companies, academic community and business sectors in overseas. After the LDP administration came in the government, the power of regulation authority was apparently weakened. “New regulation will be tested in the examination on requests from companies,” irresponsibly said Shun-ichi Tanaka, the chairman of the authority.

The nuclear villagers in Japan, however, are looking only at their interests, ignoring anxiety of residents around the plants. After watching the incredibly severe accidents in Fukushima, people around nuclear power plants are highly skeptical about safety measures of power companies. It is not about operating nuclear plants in a desert, but in dense-populated Japan. It is a sin to lay people around the plants under constant insecurity, in compensation with benefits of a part of people in society.