28 Jun (NucNet): The Upper House of the Japanese Diet (Parliament) has overwhelmingly passed – by a vote of 206 to 28 – an amended bill to create a nuclear regulatory commission.
The bill was approved by a majority vote at a plenary meeting of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, with support from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition Liberal Democratic Party and second-biggest opposition New Komeito. It cleared the House of Representatives two weeks ago.
The Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) said the bill that had been passed would provide a higher level of independence than the government had originally intended.
The new commission, comprising five nuclear experts, is expected to be established by September. At the same time, a new nuclear regulatory agency will be set up to serve as the secretariat of the commission.
The legislation will lead to the realignment of Japan’s nuclear administration and regulatory regime.
In a report into the March 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear accident, Japan announced its intention to create an independent nuclear regulatory body, breaking up the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), which both promotes and regulates nuclear energy.
Under the new law, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) will be separated from METI and combined with the Nuclear Energy Safety Commission of the Cabinet Office. The new entity will be an external branch of the Environment Ministry.
The bill also includes a number of significant clauses on nuclear plant safety.
It says backfit measures will be introduced to reflect the latest “technical findings” in existing facilities.
Reactor operation in Japan will be limited in principle to four decades, but with the possibility of extensions up to two decades.
JAIF said the new commission will set new safety standards within 10 months of its establishment. These standards will be used to determine whether to approve the restart of nuclear reactors that are offline for safety checks.
Following the Fukushima-Daiichi accident, NISA ordered two-stage stress tests on all Japan’s nuclear reactors.
Preliminary assessments examine a plant’s ability to survive beyond design basis events and are being carried out during planned periodic inspections for nuclear power plants that are ready to start-up.
Secondary “comprehensive” safety assessments are being carried out on all nuclear plants, including those that are subject to the preliminary assessments. NISA said the secondary assessments take into account the stress tests in European countries and reviews by Japan’s Fukushima-Daiichi Investigation and Verification Committee.
