Veteran nuclear experts regret Fukushima crisis, but still see need for reactors

Veteran nuclear experts regret Fukushima crisis, but still see need for reactors
January 26, 2012 (Mainichi Japan)


Shunichi Tanaka, center, former acting chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan, announces proposals made by 16 veteran nuclear experts on April 1, 2011. At right is Shojiro Matsuura, former head of the Nuclear Safety Commission. (Mainichi)


Veteran nuclear experts who were involved in Japan's atomic energy policy for decades are lamenting the outbreak of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, but maintain that resource-poor Japan needs nuclear power to support its current standard of living in the future.



http://www.facebook.com/nuclearfree
http://www.facebook.com/nukefree



In late March 2011, soon after the outbreak of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, an email was sent to about 30 leading figures in nuclear circles in Japan. Attached was a file titled: "Urgent proposals in connection with the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant," which began with the sentence: "As figures who have been promoting the peaceful use of nuclear power, we find this accident deeply regrettable, and at the same time we deeply apologize to the public."


The proposals were written mainly by three people -- Shojiro Matsuura, former head of the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC); Kenji Sumita, former acting NSC chief; and Shunichi Tanaka, former acting chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan. Some nuclear experts rejected the proposals, asking why they had to apologize. But the proposals were eventually undersigned by 16 leading nuclear experts.


Frustrated over the slow response to the nuclear crisis by the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), which operates the damaged Fukushima plant, the nuclear experts pointed out that it was essential to gather knowledge and wisdom from society to come up with a comprehensive and strategic response. The rare proposals made by the experts were released at a news conference on April 1 -- the day when many Cabinet ministers shed their disaster working uniforms and once again wore suits to mark the start of full-fledged reconstruction work. In sharp contrast to the Prime Minister's Office, which was trying to appear and sound calm, Tanaka sternly commented: "Reactor cores have melted to a considerable extent. I never predicted that we would cause the public so much trouble. We are responsible for promoting nuclear power."


So, how did the 16 nuclear experts see the Fukushima nuclear crisis?


Sumita, who played a leading role in handling the JCO criticality accident in 1999, commented: "We have not applied the lessons learned from the JCO accident in the space of 10 years." He added impatiently, "We've heard utility companies saying, 'What that backcountry company did has nothing to do with us. If we took measures, we would also be seen as being irresponsible."


Shinzo Saito, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, stated: "There's a lack of communication between the actual site and top executives at the company headquarters. This is what you might call a 'big company disease.'"


Meanwhile, a former member of the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan said, "It's a world in which everyone understands each other and if someone says something, everything is understood. There have been no constructive discussions, and criticism has never been reflected in policy."


Nevertheless, none of the experts clearly stated that Japan could do without nuclear power.


Shoji Nagamiya, former chairman of the Physical Society of Japan, commented: "Nuclear technology is a major asset to human beings. It is a waste to renounce what we have obtained." Hideki Nariai, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, added, "Atomic power is so wonderful. The global competition for energy has started, so we can't talk about getting rid of nuclear power plants."


In the wake of the outbreak of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, the government set up an advisory council on the prevention of nuclear accidents and appointed Matsuura as head of the council. The advisory council compiled proposals in December aimed at preventing a recurrence of the nuclear disaster, and called for a tentatively titled "Nuclear Regulation Agency" to be set up in April to maintain independence from the nuclear-related companies and break away from Japan's "nuclear village" -- the name given to the nation's pro-nuclear collection of politicians, bureaucrats, academics and utilities.


Looking back over his 76 years, Matsuura said, "As a person who lived through an era of insufficient energy supply, I think that if we were to maintain the current standard of living in Japan with the current population, we would need to secure a source of atomic energy and use it to live while ensuring its safety."


These are the characteristics of the "nuclear village" that the veteran nuclear experts pointed out with deep regret in connection with the Fukushima nuclear crisis. The question remains as to whether these characteristics can be altered in the future.