原子力規制委―人事で役割ゆがめるな

May 29, 2014
EDITORIAL: Nuclear watchdog must not be made toothless
原子力規制委―人事で役割ゆがめるな

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has a habit of trying to promote policy changes through political appointments. His administration seems to have employed this political ploy to achieve its goals in the area of nuclear safety inspections.
　政策の変更を、人事をテコに進めようとする。安倍政権の「得意技」が、原発審査にも及んできたのではないか――。

This is the only possible way to put proposed replacements for two outgoing commissioners of the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) into perspective.
　原子力規制委員会をめぐり、そう考えずにはいられない人事案が明らかになった。

Of the four commissioners working under NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka, Kunihiko Shimazaki and Kenzo Oshima will retire in September when their terms expire.
The administration has decided to replace them with Satoru Tanaka, a professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Tokyo, and Akira Ishiwatari, a professor of geology at Tohoku University. Tanaka is former president of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, while Ishiwatari is former president of the Geological Society of Japan.
　田中俊一委員長の下にいる委員４人のうち島崎邦彦委員長代理と大島賢三委員が９月の任期満了で退き、後任に元日本原子力学会長の田中知（さとる）・東京大教授と元日本地質学会長の石渡（いしわたり）明・東北大教授をあてる。

The nominations are expected to be approved by the Diet.
国会で承認される見通しだ。

What concerns us most is Shimazaki’s retirement from his post and the selection of Satoru Tanaka as a new commissioner.
　気になるのは、島崎氏の退任と田中知氏の起用である。

Shimazaki, a seismologist, has been strongly criticized by electric utilities and the business community for applying rigorous standards in assessing whether seismic faults near nuclear facilities are active.
　地震学者の島崎氏は、活断層評価などに関して電力会社や政財界から「審査が厳しすぎる」と強く批判されてきた。

But such criticism is unfair because most seismologists agree with his risk assessments. We hope that Ishiwatari, a geologist, will conduct safety inspections from a purely scientific viewpoint.
　だが、おおかたの地震の研究者が同意する内容で、批判は当たらない。専門の近い石渡氏も科学的な姿勢を貫いてほしい。

Satoru Tanaka, who will effectively replace Oshima, a former diplomat, is an engineer who has been promoting nuclear power generation while serving as a member of government advisory panels related to atomic energy, including the Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
　元外交官の大島氏に代わる形で就任する田中知氏は、政府の総合資源エネルギー調査会などで原子力推進の旗を振ってきた工学者だ。

The Abe administration apparently intends to eventually promote him to the post of NRA chief to succeed Shunichi Tanaka.
起用には、いずれ田中俊一委員長の後任にすえる狙いがあるようにも見える。

Based on the lessons gleaned from the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the NRA was established as a powerful new nuclear safety watchdog that operates independently of METI, a staunch backer of the nuclear power industry. During its first one year and eight months of operation, the body has reasonably performed its role of enforcing strict regulations.
　規制委は原発事故の反省を踏まえて、原子力推進の経済産業省から切り離され、強い権限を持つ規制機関として誕生した。これまでの１年８カ月、曲がりなりにも「厳格な規制」をめざしてきた。

The question is how Satoru Tanaka will contribute to the NRA’s job performance as the nuclear regulator.
　そこに加わり、田中知氏がどんな貢献をするか。

There are still many challenges that need to be tackled in continuing moves to reform the nuclear power industry, one of which is the empowerment of the Secretariat of the Nuclear Regulation Authority. The NRA is also tasked with helping local governments struggling to develop workable plans for the evacuation of their communities during nuclear emergencies and changing the mind-set of electric utilities.
　原子力規制の改革はまだ始まったばかりだ。実務にあたる原子力規制庁の強化、事故時の住民避難に悩む自治体への支援、電力会社の意識改革など、課題は山積している。

The new nuclear safety standards, which were established last year, need to be reviewed constantly to reflect the latest scientific knowledge. The NRA commissioners have very important roles to play in all these efforts.
　昨年定めた原発の新規制基準にしても、不断に見直して最新の知見を反映しなければいけない。委員の役割は重大だ。

Even after the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Satoru Tanaka has consistently argued that nuclear power generation is necessary technology.
　田中知氏は事故後も「原子力は必要な技術だ」と主張し続けた。

In its final report, the accident investigative committee of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, led by Tanaka, cited the “lack of sufficient understanding among the experts concerning the roles that they have to perform” and the “lack of sufficient attention to safety among the regulatory authorities.” The report was compiled only through internal discussions within the society, which has been often criticized for its closed nature.
一方、氏が率いた学会事故調査委員会は最終報告書で、事故の背景として「専門家の自らの役割に関する認識の不足」や「規制当局の安全に対する意識の不足」を挙げた。閉鎖性を批判されている学会が、内部の議論だけでまとめたものだ。

Can Satoru Tanaka serve as a fair and unbiased nuclear regulator? Can he do his job purely from the viewpoint of safety, based on soul searching as a specialist of nuclear technology in the face of the Fukushima nuclear disaster? Can he carry out his job as a regulator independently of his personal belief that nuclear power generation and the program to establish a nuclear fuel recycling system should be promoted?
　専門家としての深い反省に基づき、原子力や核燃料サイクルの推進という持論を棚上げしたうえで、安全の観点だけから虚心に原子力の規制にあたれるか。

If he can’t, he is not qualified to sit on the NRA.
そうでなければ、委員を務める資格はない。

The terms of the remaining two commissioners will expire next year and the tenure of the chairman will come to an end in 2017.
　残り２人の委員は来年に、委員長は１７年に任期を迎える。

The government should not be allowed to make the nuclear watchdog toothless by nominating experts who are convenient to it and the industry.
　人事で原子力規制を骨抜きにしてはならない。

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 29