Diet deliberations on bills to create a new nuclear regulatory agency started Tuesday, with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda stressing the need to swiftly launch the body to address public anxiety stirred by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
The start of deliberations represents a step forward in establishing the new body, which has been delayed because of objections from opposition parties. The government had wanted to establish it by April 1.
Put on the table are bills submitted by the government as well as a counterproposal presented by the Liberal Democratic Party, the main opposition force, and its ally, New Komeito.