原子力規制庁―政治と専門家の連携を

-- The Asahi Shimbun, May 30
EDITORIAL: New nuclear agency must be independent, all-encompassing
原子力規制庁―政治と専門家の連携を

At long last, the Diet on May 29 began deliberations on bills to create Japan's new nuclear regulatory agency.
　ようやく、である。
　原子力規制庁（仮称）の創設を柱とする原子力規制関連法案が衆議院で審議入りした。

These bills must become law if Japan, having learned its lesson the hard way from the Fukushima disaster, is to have a powerful nuclear watchdog that functions independently of authorities that promote nuclear power generation. The law will also be crucial to the eventual abandonment of nuclear energy.
　福島原発事故の反省に立って規制行政を推進から切り離し、一元化して強化する。脱原発依存を進めるうえでも、要となる法律である。

The bills were first presented to the Diet four months ago, and the proposed new agency was supposed to have been established back in April. All this delay has added to the public's mistrust of the nation's nuclear authorities.
　法案提出からすでに４カ月が過ぎた。４月発足という当初の予定から大きくずれこんでいることが原発行政への不信を高める原因にもなっている。

Both the ruling and opposition parties must engage in thorough debate to ensure the new agency's efficacy and strive for the law's early enactment.
　与野党は実効性ある仕組みづくりへ議論を尽くしつつ、一刻も早い成立を目指してほしい。

The focal issue is the agency's independence.
　焦点は、規制庁の独立性だ。

The government-sponsored bill calls for the integration of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) and the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC), which respectively are currently under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Cabinet Office. The integrated entity is to be an extra-ministerial organ of the Environment Ministry, with the latter controlling budget and personnel matters. But in times of emergency, politicians will step in.
　政府案では、経済産業省内の原子力安全・保安院と内閣府の原子力安全委員会を移管・統合し、環境省の外局とし、人事や予算の権限は環境省が握る。非常時には政治が前面に出る。

The bill proposed by the opposition Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito calls for the establishment of a highly independent "nuclear regulatory commission" in keeping with Article 3 of the National Government Organization Law. This commission is to oversee the new nuclear regulatory agency, so that the latter will remain free of political interference.
　これに対し、自民、公明両党が提出した対案は、規制庁の上部組織として、独立性の高い国家行政組織法の「３条委員会」にあたる原子力規制委員会（仮称）を設け、政治の関与を排除することに力点を置く。

The difference between the government bill and the opposition bill boils down to whether the confusion that followed the Fukushima disaster should be blamed on the inefficacy of nuclear experts or on excessive meddling by then Prime Minister Naoto Kan and other politicians.
　両者の差は、福島事故の際の混乱原因を、専門家たちの能力欠如に見るか、それとも、菅首相（当時）をはじめとする政治家の過剰関与に見るか、の違いでもある。

But investigations to date have revealed that politicians and nuclear experts alike were pathetically unprepared for the catastrophe and that both lacked the maturity to deal with it.
　だが、これまでの事故検証が示すのは、政治も専門家集団も過酷事故への備えが甘く、どちらも未熟だったという事実だ。

The government is amenable to incorporating the opposition proposal in order to expedite legislation.
　政府は早期成立へ自公案を受け入れる構えである。

We have no objections to enhancing the independence of the new agency. However, this may only lead to giving greater power to the "nuclear village" unless its denizens undergo a major transformation in awareness. It is vital to ensure the agency's independence and transparency.
　独立性を高める点に私たちも異論はない。ただ、専門家の質や意識が変わらないままでは、「原子力ムラ」による支配が強まることにもなりかねない。組織の中立性や透明性の確保は不可欠だ。

And instead of just tweaking the organizational structure, steps should be taken to invite reliable advisers from abroad and groom highly capable and qualified staff.
　組織の形をいじるだけではなく、外国からアドバイザーを入れたり、見識の高い専門スタッフを育成する手だてを講じたりしなければならない。

This is just groundwork on which to build a strong system for all parties to fulfill their responsibilities and work closely together at all times.
　そのうえで、平時でも緊急時でも、それぞれが役割や責任を果たしつつ、連携する仕組みを根底からつくることだ。

But we have one issue with the proposed nature of the new watchdog. That is, since both the government and opposition bills leave it to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to deal with matters concerning safeguards for the prevention of nuclear proliferation, the new agency does not come into the picture here.
　規制の一元化という点でも問題が残る。政府案でも自公案でも、核拡散を防ぐ査察など保障措置（セーフガード）に関する行政は規制庁の業務に盛り込まれず、引き続き文部科学省の管轄となっている。

Matters of national security, such as protecting the nation from potential nuclear terrorism, are inseparable from nuclear regulatory issues such as how to store and maintain spent nuclear fuel. In order for Japan to be able to cooperate fully with the rest of the world, we believe all regulatory issues should be handled by the new agency.
　核テロへの備えなど安全保障面での対応は、使用済み燃料の保管の仕方といった原子力規制とも密接に絡む。国際的な協調を総合的に進めるためにも新組織に集約すべきだ。