First NRA drill in Rokkasho

October 5, 2012

Japan's new nuclear regulator stages 1st drill

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20121005_26.html

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority, or NRA, has staged its first emergency drill since its launch in September.

The drill on Friday was based on a scenario involving a massive earthquake and resulting power blackout at a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, in the northern prefecture of Aomori.

The authority's commissioner Toyoshi Fuketa flew to the plant on a Self-Defense Force aircraft with NRA secretariat staff.

The NRA has designated Fuketa to meet nuclear plant operators during emergencies to command disaster response.

Last year's nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant exposed serious flaws in communication between the government, the disabled plant and its operator's headquarters.

In Friday's drill, NRA secretariat official Yoshihide Kuroki went to an emergency response center near the Rokkasho plant.

Kuroki used a video link with the NRA in Tokyo to practice confirming evacuation and other steps to ensure residents' safety.

Kuroki said the simulation went smoothly but that reaching the center took as long as 5 hours.

The NRA consists of a 5-member commission and a secretariat. It aims to singlehandedly oversee nuclear safety, with a high degree of independence.