The Diet looks like it's finally set to deliberate a long-stalled bill to create a new nuclear regulatory agency that will serve as a true atomic energy watchdog and, hopefully, rebuild the public trust lost by its predecessors.
Given that Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda initially planned to inaugurate the new regulatory body April 1, critics are arguing the delay has only served to highlight his government's failure to make progress on drafting new nuclear regulations, nearly 15 months after the Fukushima disaster started last March.
The perceived cozy ties between the regulatory authorities and the nuclear industry under the current setup have prompted a hail of public criticism and calls for a new agency to be created, completely independent from the government and any other political or private entities.