As the ruling Democratic Party of Japan under Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda pushed to make the yet-to-be-established Nuclear Regulatory Agency subordinate to the Environment Ministry, the opposition Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito favored granting it greater authority.
It was reported Friday that the two sides reached a compromise on how much autonomy and power should be given to the new body. How did that happen?
On April 18, the Diet panel investigating the March 11, 2011, accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant questioned Hiroyuki Fukano, head of the trade and industry ministry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA): To what extent were he and his agency involved in the decision by four Cabinet ministers in favor of restarting the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors of Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, and to what extent did they act independently of the ministers' judgment?