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原子力規制委の人選、どうすべきですか

　日本経済新聞社は「電子版（Ｗｅｂ刊）」の有料・無料読者の皆さんを対象とした週１回の意識調査を実施しています。第91回は原子力の安全確保のため、９月に発足予定の原子力規制委員会の人選基準についてうかが…続き （2012/7/7 6:00）

25/09 Noda changing Kan's N-plant stance

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is slowly changing the government's stance on nuclear power generation, which his predecessor, Naoto Kan, wanted to replace with other energy sources.

In July, when he was prime minister, Kan revised the long-held Japanese policy of promoting nuclear power and exports of nuclear technology because of the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Noda seems to be taking a more moderate approach by insisting that a stable electric power supply utilizing nuclear power plants is essential for economic growth.

In his opinion, both economic growth and fiscal health are inseparable for rebuilding the economy.

At a high-level U.N. meeting in New York on nuclear safety and security Thursday, Noda said: "For several years, emerging nations and many other countries around the world have earnestly explored ways of using nuclear energy amid the need for energy security and in response to global warming. Japan supported their efforts and remains steadfast in responding positively to their interest in our undertakings."

This indicated that the prime minister was committed to continuing Japan's policy of exporting nuclear power plant equipment and technology.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday ahead of his visit to the United States, Noda clearly mentioned the timing for reactivating nuclear reactors idled for regular checkups.

Though Noda said the "biggest precondition" was winning the understanding of prefectures where nuclear power plants are located and confirming the safety of the plants, he emphasized, "From spring through summer next year, we must bring them [the reactors] back online as best as we can." He also indicated nuclear power plants now under construction would eventually go online.

Since becoming prime minister, Noda has announced one policy after another.

A government source said this was because Noda wanted "to clearly show other countries that his policies were different from those of the Kan administration."

The prime minister believes that to revitalize the Japanese economy and achieve fiscal health, Japan must secure a stable electric power supply by utilizing nuclear power plants, the source said.

In his first policy speech to the Diet as the prime minister on Sept. 13, Noda said he would compile a new energy strategy, including the use of nuclear power, by summer.

However, political analysts said Noda so far had yet to draw up a long-term energy strategy.

The prime minister pledged in the Diet to "lower reliance on nuclear power plants as much as possible," indicating he would reduce reliance on nuclear power.

Though he drew a clear line between his and Kan's policy, Noda's remarks about the construction of new nuclear power plants or reactors have been ambiguous.

At one point, Noda suggested the number of reactors in service would be zero within a few decades. But on another occasion, he hinted that the construction of new reactors would be possible depending on the situation.

(Sep. 25, 2011)

09/07 Restart N-plants safely; shut down Kan govt swiftly

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The chaotic situation surrounding the issue of restarting nuclear reactors that were suspended for regular inspections has moved to a deeper dimension under the administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

It has now become more likely that every single nuclear reactor in Japan will be suspended within a year, causing a severe power shortage. This is an alarming situation for the nation.

Developments in Genkaicho, Saga Prefecture, show the direction events are taking. Genkaicho Mayor Hideo Kishimoto on Thursday officially withdrew his previously declared approval for Kyushu Electric Power Co. to restart two reactors at its Genkai nuclear power plant.

He nullified his former decision because Kan has abruptly stated the safety of nuclear reactors cannot be confirmed until so-called stress tests are performed on the reactors and because the prime minister contradicted a "safety declaration" that had earlier been announced by Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda.

The mayor is openly angry about the government's inconsistent responses to the issue, saying, "I can't trust the central government."

Saga Gov. Yasushi Furukawa has asked the central government to show a united position on the safety of nuclear reactors. Inevitably, the confidence of local governments in the central government is now completely battered.

===

Kaieda stabbed in the back

The responsibility for inviting all the confusion unmistakably rests with Kan himself. In principle, he is in a position to bring the situation under control. However, can we expect him to do it?

Kan previously had repeated he would let suspended reactors be restarted after regular inspections confirmed their safety. Based on this stance, Kaieda had been asking the local governments concerned to allow the restart of the reactors at the Genkai plant.

However, Kan suddenly changed his stance, saying new safety standards were necessary.

For Kaieda, it was like he had been stabbed in the back by his friend. He told a Diet session Thursday that he "would take [his] share of responsibility on the issue sooner or later," suggesting the possibility of resignation. He must now feel he cannot go along with the self-righteous prime minister any longer.

We understand the necessity of stress tests to ensure the safety of nuclear reactors. However, Kan must realize that a test on a reactor requires several months at least. It means the restart of the Genkai plant's reactors will not begin in August, when the demand for electricity will sharply rise. In addition, the restart of reactors at other nuclear power stations will face difficulties.

Currently there are 17 reactors commercially operating. Five of them will be suspended one after another in July or August for regular inspections. The supply capacity of the five reactors combined is 5 million kilowatts, almost equivalent to that of Hokuriku Electric Power Co. In other words, the capacity equivalent of an entire power company will be lost.

===

An ever-worsening situation

For Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Tohoku Electric Power Co., whose large-lot customers are currently obliged to save electricity under a government ordinance, balancing supply and demand will be like a high-wire act. It is possible the two companies will have to implement rolling blackouts.

If the prime minister does not recognize this critical situation, he is unbelievably irresponsible. He has pinned his hopes on a special measures bill designed to promote renewable energy sources. But his top priority should be to settle the immediate problem at hand.

"I don't flatter myself that I'm the best prime minister ever, but I mustn't shirk my responsibility," Kan said during a Diet session about reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake and bringing the nuclear crisis under control.

We wonder how a person who raises big issues without taking any positive action on his own can make such a statement.

Under this prime minister, the Japanese economy only keeps heading deeper and deeper into a slump. Everyone in the political world should find a way to bring an end to the Kan administration as soon as possible.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 8, 2011)

(Jul. 9, 2011)

07/07 混乱に輪かける唐突な原発テスト表明

2011/7/7付

　海江田万里経済産業相が６日、全国の原子力発電所でストレステスト（耐性調査）と呼ぶ追加的な安全検査を実施すると表明した。地震や津波に襲われたとき、原発の設備が安全基準で定めた水準に対し、どの程度の余裕があるか調べる検査だ。

　福島第１原発の事故を受け、ほかの原発で安全性を念入りに確かめること自体は妥当だ。しかし、定期検査で止まった原発の再稼働をめぐり地元が厳しい判断を迫られているなか、唐突な追加検査の実施表明は混乱に拍車を掛けている。

　経産相はこれまで地元自治体に再稼働の要請を続けてきた。一方で、原発事故の発生から４カ月近くたっていきなりテスト実施を持ち出した。本来なら事故直後に始めるべきテストを、なぜ、この時期に実施すると発表したのか、理解に苦しむ。

　定期検査で停止中の九州電力玄海原発２、３号機では地元が再開を容認する姿勢だった。だが佐賀県知事は「テストを待って判断するのが妥当」と、結論を先送りした。地元の自治体や住民は困惑し、かえって不信感を募らせている。

　このままでは54ある原発すべてが１年以内に止まり、電力不足が深刻化して経済全体に影響が及ぶ。経産相は危機回避へ全力を尽くすというが、それを乗り越えるための具体的な手立てを示さなければならない。

　菅直人首相はテスト実施の理由を自ら丁寧に説明すべきだ。首相は中部電力浜岡原発について政治判断で停止を指示し、これが発端になってほかの原発の運転再開が遅れている面がある。首相は佐賀県知事との面会も先送りしているが、これではあまりに無責任ではないか。

　福島第１原発の事故を受け、欧州連合（ＥＵ）は域内の原発で素早くストレステストに着手した。日本でも実施する以上、細目を早く示し、国民が信頼できる検査体制を整えることが欠かせない。国の原子力安全委員会が関与し、「ダブルチェック体制」を機能させる必要がある。

　原発の新設や運転再開では、まず原子力安全・保安院が安全性を審査し、それを安全委が重ねて点検する仕組みを取っている。班目春樹委員長はストレステストで大きな弱点が見つかれば「対策を実施するまで運転をすべきではない」と述べた。

　安全委は原発事故へ対応が後手に回ったことで批判を浴び、政府は原子力安全を担う組織を再編する方針だ。しかし今の事態は急を要する。ここはひとまず安全委が「原子力安全の番人」たる役目を果たさなければ、その存在意義はない。

05/07 脱原発ではなく縮原発を…経済同友会代表幹事

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　経済同友会の長谷川閑史やすちか代表幹事は５日の記者会見で、東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の事故を受け、今後の原発政策は推進でも脱原発でもなく「原発の比率を下げる『縮原発』の第３の道が最も現実的な路線だ」と主張した。

　電力会社に自然エネルギー買い取りを義務づけた「再生可能エネルギー特別措置法案」については「国民感情を考えれば、自然エネルギーを国家政策として推進していくことには意義がある」と、支持する考えを示した。

　同法案を巡っては、経団連の米倉弘昌会長が、「電気料金の上昇を招き、企業が海外に出てしまう」などとして延期を訴えている。

（2011年7月5日17時25分  読売新聞）

19/04 High levels of radiation at 2 reactors

The Yomiuri Shimbun

High levels of radiation were measured Sunday by remote-controlled robots inside the buildings that house reactors Nos. 1 and 3 of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant--levels that would need to be lowered for workers to work inside the buildings, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said Monday.

The agency said radiation levels were measured from 10 to 49 millisieverts per hour for the No. 1 reactor and from 28 to 57 millisieverts per hour for the No. 3 reactor.

"As things stand now, it would be difficult to send workers inside them to work. We need to lower the radiation levels or block them somehow," said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokeman for the agency.

It marked the first time that radiation levels have been measured inside the buildings housing reactors Nos. 1 and 3 since hydrogen explosions occurred in these two units in the wake of the massive quake and tsunami on March 11.

Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the crisis-hit plant, used two U.S.-made robots to take the measurements.

Measurements at the No. 3 reactor, taken between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday, found that the temperature inside was from 19 C to 22 C, the humidity from 32 percent to 35 percent, and the oxygen content of the air inside 21 percent.

At the No. 1 reactor, where measurements were taken between 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., the temperature ranged from 28 C to 29 C, the humidity from 49 percent to 56 percent, while the oxygen content was 21 percent.

Inside the building housing reactor No. 3, the interior of which was also photographed by a robot Sunday, there was a large amount of debris found, making it impossible for the robot to advance further.

===

N-policy to be verified

Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Monday told a Diet session, held to discuss issues concerning the recent quake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, that the government needs to review its nuclear power policy right from the fundamentals.

Regarding the government's future nuclear policy in light of the latest accident at the Fukushima plant, Kan said: "We need to take all preconceived ideas and go back to the drawing board to examine from the ground up the reasons why the accidents occurred. When we've reached a certain point, we would like to make a thorough verification."

When asked what specific issues were to be verified, Kan said, "The issue of the spent fuels being stored as they were [in the pool inside the reactor building], without there being a proper, systematic framework in place with regard to such issues as the nuclear fuel cycle and final disposal site."

Meanwhile, TEPCO President Masataka Shimizu apologized before the members of the House of Councillors Budget Committee, where he appeared as an unsworn witness, for the recent spate of accidents at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

"I would like to sincerely apologize once again for causing so much trouble and anxiety to the residents near the power plant, the people in Fukushima Prefecture and the public at large over the extremely serious matter of radioactive material leaking outside the plant," said Shimizu.

During the upper house committee meeting, Kan rejected the view that the government failed to respond appropriately to the twin disasters and ensuing nuclear plant accident in the inital stages, and that Kan's leadership came into question.

"It is not correct to say that the government's initial response was insufficient. I believe we have been responding to the issues in a sufficient manner," Kan said.

Regarding the timetable for bringing the nuclear crisis at the plant under control, announced by TEPCO on Sunday, Kan said, "The government will do its utmost in cooperating with work undertaken by TEPCO, taking an approach in which we will do whatever we can as the state, so that the timetable presented by TEPCO can be realized as soon as possible."

(Apr. 19, 2011)