Shunichi Tanaka

The Nuclear Regulation Authority came into being against the backdrop of badly damaged public trust in the nation’s nuclear safety regulation and administration. Keeping this in mind, we must ensure that the NRA carries out its responsibility and meets the expectations of the people to the fullest, in adopting and applying strictest regulations.

We must not forget hard-learned lessons from the accident of Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station; we must be jealous in protecting NRA’s organizational independence and earnest in keeping its operational transparency; we should be careful not to consort with electric utilities and other interest groups; and we will be tireless in our efforts to improve our regulatory measures so that Japan’s nuclear regulation standards will be among the world’s highest.

For me not a day passes without thinking about the people who are constrained to live in constant fear and anxiety over radiation effects. I am determined to bring all my experience and knowledge, such as those I gained from the JCO criticality accident, to achieve enhanced nuclear safety within the framework of the new regulatory authority.