» No check up system functioning for exporting nuclear plant since last September

2013/08/07

According the report of Mainichi Newspaper, the Japanese government has failed to sufficiently evaluate counter nations’ nuclear regulatory regimes as well as awareness of nuclear safety issues among the public of those nations.

In 2008, the administration of then Prime Minister Taro Aso promised to create guidelines that would block Japanese financing for nuclear exports if residents of the importing nation were not properly aware of safety issues related to nuclear power.

No progress was made on creating the guidelines. In December 2010, seven non-governmental organizations including NGO Friend of Earth Japan addressed the 2008 promise during a regular meeting with the Ministry of Finance.Three years later, with a nuclear technology deal in place with Turkey and another possible with Jordan, those guidelines have yet to be completed.

The report of Mainich news paper says that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is considering action to deal with the inability to conduct checks on importing nations’ nuclear regulatory and safety apparatus — previously conducted by the now defunct Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) — which apparently became even more slipshod beginning in September last year. This is because the Nuclear Regulation Authority set up following the Fukushima nuclear disaster has refused to take over the duty from the NISA on the grounds that it could not ensure its independence as a regulatory body if it were involved in the export of nuclear plant technology.

<Media Report>
Japan gov’t failing to keep promises on nuclear tech exports(Mainichi Newspaper)

Tags:japanese government, news, NGO, nuclear export

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