후쿠시마사고 이후 일본 원자력안전규제법제의 최근 동향에 관한 분석

Japan had the severe accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in March 2011, that was something totally new to human history. After that accident, Japan made the substantial reform to the legal system of the nuclear safety regulation. The core of the year of 2012 reforms is about the enactment of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Act that gives the Nuclear Regulatory Commission the power to regulate all kinds of nuclear business operators, and the amendment of the Nuclear Reactor Regulation Act that requires the nuclear business operators ought to satisfy the far stricter requirements of risk management. In particular, according to the amendment of the Nuclear Reactor Regulation Act, nuclear business operators have the duties ⑴ to cope with 'Severe Accident' in risk management, ⑵ to satisfy 'Back Fit' requirement in that the existing facilities as well as new facilities have to fit new standards, ⑶ to get permission of 'Renewal of Driving Period' after 40 years, ⑷　to pass periodically 'Safe Review' to improve safety of facilities, etc. But, it is important that in spite of the reform of these legal system, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has to exercise it's powers as fairly as possible, from the position of neutrality according to expert knowledge, because substantial part of the nuclear regulatory is entrusted to administrative discretion of that Commission. So that, securing transparency of the nuclear regulatory administration will be more urgent priority task, in order to overcome political pressure or collusion of nuclear regulators and nuclear power operators.