Voluntary inspections by nuclear plant operators should be regulated and standards introduced for allowable defects to prevent further coverups of structural faults like the scandal now rocking the industry, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said Thursday.
The agency, a unit of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, proposed at an open-door meeting of an advisory panel that safety information disclosure be enhanced and penalties imposed for noncompliance.
The agency aims to submit bills to the Diet this fall to revise the Electric Utility Law and the Nuclear Reactor Regulation Law based on the panel's advice to be presented Tuesday in an interim report.