Japan to set up new nuclear agency under Environment Ministry

TOKYO, Aug. 11 Kyodo - The government plans to set up a new agency in charge of nuclear safety under the Environment Ministry rather than the Cabinet Office in the wake of the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a Cabinet member said Thursday.
Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of the crisis, told a meeting of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan about the plan to integrate the existing Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and the Cabinet Office's Nuclear Safety Commission under the ministry ''free of constraints'' from the industry ministry that promotes nuclear power.
The plan was given the green light by Prime Minister Naoto Kan as Hosono worked out the remaining issues concerning his proposal last week to establish the new agency, possibly in April next year, under either the Environment Ministry or the Cabinet Office.
Kan told a parliamentary session that the agency ''must be independent'' and its ''head must be someone who understands the problems'' of nuclear power administration.
A person from the private sector could be among the candidates to head the planned agency, government sources said.
Given some government officials' concerns regarding the plan, relevant Cabinet ministers will meet on Friday to discuss and finalize it.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference that the meeting is aimed at setting the ground for approval of the plan at a Cabinet meeting Monday at the latest.
The government is set to drop the option of placing the agency under the Cabinet Office because of its ''ties'' with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which loans officials to the office, one of the sources said.
If the agency operated under the Cabinet Office, its coordination with the prime minister's office during an emergency such as a nuclear accident would be easier, but independence from the industry ministry has been given greater priority, the source said.
The current setup of the nuclear safety agency under the industry ministry has been criticized for lax government supervision of nuclear facilities and a slow response to the Fukushima plant crisis, triggered by the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Kan has since called for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency to be separated from the industry ministry and instructed Hosono to draft ideas to improve the country's nuclear safety.
The embattled premier, who has signaled his intent to step down, has vowed to make tangible progress in containing the nuclear crisis and to realize a major overhaul of Japan's nuclear regulatory structure.