Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Q&As

REPORTER: I have a question concerning the Nuclear Safety Regulation Agency. Mr. Kurokawa, the chair of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission established in the Diet has issued a statement in which he has expressed his mystification about why the draft bills that stipulate the organizational format for the Nuclear Safety Regulation Agency have been decided while the commission is still in the process of its investigation. He has requested that the Government revise its decision on the draft bill. What is the Government's response to this situation?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY FUJIMURA: It is essential that a new organization and structure be established in the near term to ensure the safe regulation of nuclear power and make certain that a disaster prevention structure is in place, as well as to restore the trust of the public in nuclear power. It is based on this recognition that the draft bills in question were approved by the Cabinet and submitted to the Diet. The aim is to ensure these draft bills are deliberated promptly in the Diet, with a view to realizing the Agency's establishment as of April 1. With regard to the content of the bills, this will be drafted in a two-round method. In the first round the aim is to devise and create a robust organizational structure. Following that, based on the future revision of nuclear and energy policy and the findings of the verification of the nuclear accident, the modalities for nuclear safety and regulation structures will be further considered. The findings of the Investigation and Verification Committee on the Accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations of Tokyo Electric Power Company established by the Government are not due to be finalized until the summer, by August or thereabouts, so under the present circumstances the aim is to establish a new organization and structure that can respond to these future requirements at an early stage. Based on the Cabinet decision of August 15 last year, if the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission established in the Diet were to present recommendations, these would naturally be taken with the utmost seriousness and given due consideration in the second round of the reforms.

The "second round" I have just referred to relates to the Cabinet decision of August 15 last year, in which first and second rounds of reforms were set out.

(Abridged)