An unusual situation occurred wherein the head of the Nuclear Safety Commission, which deliberates and decides on nuclear safety policies, criticized the country’s nuclear safety regulations. Nuclear Safety Commission Chief Haruki Madarame criticized “cozy and collusive relations” between Japan’s government and electric utilities at a February 15 session of the Diet committee investigating the accident at Fukushima I nuclear power station.
Madarame said, “The nuclear safety regulations until today have been based on a convoy system of the regulatory authority and utilities. The utilities proposed the least expensive safety standards, which in turn were approved by the authorities. This led to a vicious cycle in which the utilities did nothing and justified their inaction by claiming that the government had approved the safety standards.” Madarame launched into his theory by saying, “Regardless of the safety standards set forth by the country, the utilities should adopt safety measures that far exceed the standards.”
At the same time, regarding the safety inspection guidelines under revision by the Nuclear Safety Commission, Madarame apologized that [unexpected events such as the tsunami that hit Fukushima and the resulting power loss at the nuclear plant] had not been taken into account. On that basis, Madarame explained, Japan’s regulatory authority “had not been able to provide a decision-making system that would implement certain safety measures regardless of resistance [from the utilities and other parties concerned].”
