Fukushima Watch: Japan Gets ‘Feudal’ on Reactor Restarts
Fukushima Watch: Japan Gets ‘Feudal’ on Reactor Restarts
As the Japanese government moves full steam ahead with plans to bring back online the first nuclear reactors since last year’s crisis in Fukushima, the town of Oi is preparing to roll out the futons for a pair of long-term visiting V.I.P.s from Tokyo.
The two high-ranking government officials are being sent to the rural seaside town as part of a promise made last month by nuclear disaster minister Goshi Hosono, in order to pave the way for restarts of Oi’s No. 3 and No. 4 reactors-a controversial decision amid widespread public anxiety about nuclear safety.
To many in Japan, the move brings to mind a modern-day interpretation of the feudal-era practice of “sankin-kotai,” or alternating residency, in which local warlords returning to their seats in the countryside were forced to leave their families in Tokyo, as high-class hostages.
In today’s modern version, deputy trade minister Seishu Makino, a ruling party lawmaker, and top nuclear regulator Shinichi Kuroki, will likely be dispatched to help oversee operations at the Oi plant, according to ministry officials, who half-jokingly refer to the two as “hostages” of Tokyo’s nuclear policy.
The pair could be stationed as soon as next week at Oi’s Nuclear Emergency Response Center, which is about seven kilometers from the plant. The center is one of 20-odd facilities built near nuclear power stations in order to provide a central operations hub for civil authorities and plant operators in the event of minor mishaps or major disasters.
Mr. Hosono’s move to shore up confidence in the safety of Japan’s idled nuclear plants by putting senior officials on the front lines comes amid criticism that not enough has been done to prevent another accident and prepare for worst-case scenarios. Yet critics say offsite centers like that in Oi remain vulnerable to some of the same problems that rendered Fukushima’s emergency response center useless within hours of the disaster.
In theory, these facilities are designed to serve as headquarters to help government and plant officials coordinate decisions on dispatching first responders to a nuclear plant, updating central government authorities and, if needed, implementing evacuations. Most feature a state-of-the-art satellite videoconferencing system with dual screens, rows of desks equipped with phones and laptops and plenty of whiteboards ready to be wheeled out at a moment’s notice. Oi’s emergency facility even includes a small sleeping room with cots and a press center and has been used in repeated drills.
But critics say the offsite center in Oi is woefully unprepared for a severe accident on the scale of Fukushima. A report issued by a Japanese Nuclear Safety Commission expert panel earlier this year found that all 20 centers are located within 13 kilometers of their respective plants-in one case just 2 kilometers away. Only two are equipped with air filtration systems-and even those aren’t designed to protect against contamination by radioactive noble gases like xenon.
What’s more, many of the centers are vulnerable to tsunamis, since they were built less than two kilometers from the shore and at elevations under 10 meters. The NSC report concluded that a “fundamental rethink” of Japan’s network of offsite centers was needed to prevent a recurrence of the paralysis that gripped authorities in Fukushima.
So far, no major upgrades have been made to Oi’s Nuclear Emergency Response Center, which is just seven kilometers away from the reactors and less than a dozen meters from the edge of Obama Bay, according to local officials. [OP note - the Oi reactor is also very close to Lake Biwa, which provides most of Kansai's water, which is a BIG reason why so many local governments in Kansai were flipping out and refusing to OK it being turned back on for so long.)
One recent weekday, the two-story building was empty save for a sole security guard at the entrance and a skeleton crew of officials from Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency working out of an anteroom. Although off limits to unauthorized personnel, a visitor from JRT was permitted to enter (after exchanging outdoor footwear for green slippers) and approach a rack in the main hallway stuffed with more than a dozen informational pamphlets with titles such as “Hello, I’m [Your] Nuclear Safety Inspection Officer” and “Emergency Response Support System: Real-Time Support for Everyone’s Safety and Security.”
Officials in Oi and Tokyo declined to say where the visiting VIPs will be lodged during their stay. There are just a handful of options for overnight accommodations, including one less than a kilometer from the main gate of the Oi plant that features 18 rooms and a seaside view. Its name? Fukushima Inn.
As the Japanese government moves full steam ahead with plans to bring back online the first nuclear reactors since last year’s crisis in Fukushima, the town of Oi is preparing to roll out the futons for a pair of long-term visiting V.I.P.s from Tokyo.
The two high-ranking government officials are being sent to the rural seaside town as part of a promise made last month by nuclear disaster minister Goshi Hosono, in order to pave the way for restarts of Oi’s No. 3 and No. 4 reactors-a controversial decision amid widespread public anxiety about nuclear safety.
To many in Japan, the move brings to mind a modern-day interpretation of the feudal-era practice of “sankin-kotai,” or alternating residency, in which local warlords returning to their seats in the countryside were forced to leave their families in Tokyo, as high-class hostages.
In today’s modern version, deputy trade minister Seishu Makino, a ruling party lawmaker, and top nuclear regulator Shinichi Kuroki, will likely be dispatched to help oversee operations at the Oi plant, according to ministry officials, who half-jokingly refer to the two as “hostages” of Tokyo’s nuclear policy.
The pair could be stationed as soon as next week at Oi’s Nuclear Emergency Response Center, which is about seven kilometers from the plant. The center is one of 20-odd facilities built near nuclear power stations in order to provide a central operations hub for civil authorities and plant operators in the event of minor mishaps or major disasters.
Mr. Hosono’s move to shore up confidence in the safety of Japan’s idled nuclear plants by putting senior officials on the front lines comes amid criticism that not enough has been done to prevent another accident and prepare for worst-case scenarios. Yet critics say offsite centers like that in Oi remain vulnerable to some of the same problems that rendered Fukushima’s emergency response center useless within hours of the disaster.
In theory, these facilities are designed to serve as headquarters to help government and plant officials coordinate decisions on dispatching first responders to a nuclear plant, updating central government authorities and, if needed, implementing evacuations. Most feature a state-of-the-art satellite videoconferencing system with dual screens, rows of desks equipped with phones and laptops and plenty of whiteboards ready to be wheeled out at a moment’s notice. Oi’s emergency facility even includes a small sleeping room with cots and a press center and has been used in repeated drills.
But critics say the offsite center in Oi is woefully unprepared for a severe accident on the scale of Fukushima. A report issued by a Japanese Nuclear Safety Commission expert panel earlier this year found that all 20 centers are located within 13 kilometers of their respective plants-in one case just 2 kilometers away. Only two are equipped with air filtration systems-and even those aren’t designed to protect against contamination by radioactive noble gases like xenon.
What’s more, many of the centers are vulnerable to tsunamis, since they were built less than two kilometers from the shore and at elevations under 10 meters. The NSC report concluded that a “fundamental rethink” of Japan’s network of offsite centers was needed to prevent a recurrence of the paralysis that gripped authorities in Fukushima.
So far, no major upgrades have been made to Oi’s Nuclear Emergency Response Center, which is just seven kilometers away from the reactors and less than a dozen meters from the edge of Obama Bay, according to local officials. [OP note - the Oi reactor is also very close to Lake Biwa, which provides most of Kansai's water, which is a BIG reason why so many local governments in Kansai were flipping out and refusing to OK it being turned back on for so long.)
One recent weekday, the two-story building was empty save for a sole security guard at the entrance and a skeleton crew of officials from Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency working out of an anteroom. Although off limits to unauthorized personnel, a visitor from JRT was permitted to enter (after exchanging outdoor footwear for green slippers) and approach a rack in the main hallway stuffed with more than a dozen informational pamphlets with titles such as “Hello, I’m [Your] Nuclear Safety Inspection Officer” and “Emergency Response Support System: Real-Time Support for Everyone’s Safety and Security.”
Officials in Oi and Tokyo declined to say where the visiting VIPs will be lodged during their stay. There are just a handful of options for overnight accommodations, including one less than a kilometer from the main gate of the Oi plant that features 18 rooms and a seaside view. Its name? Fukushima Inn.