Author: kiyoshi kurokawa

Why is the ‘Nuclear Village’ being revived? According to Dr. Kurokawa, professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and the former chair of the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC), “The biggest issue is that due to weak Legislative branch of the Government, the Administrative branch of the Government is not being kept in check.”

“Although it is the job of the Legislative branch of the government to develop policies, the bureaucracy is still doing this. Meanwhile, the Administrative branch by the bureaucracies will not acknowledge that it has made mistakes. In these circumstances, there is no way that policies will change by Ministrial silos, even after the Fukushima accident.”

Dr. Kurokawa takes the view that “when the government, TEPCO, scholars, and the mainstream media colluded and declared that the nuclear plant did not undergo a meltdown, it effectively signalled the “meltdown” of all authority. A country that was supposed to be an economically and technologically advanced was seen as incredibly irresponsible and our nation lost the world’s trust.”

How can this trust be regained? Dr. Kurokawa’s answer is the “strengthening of the functions of the legislative branch,” which specifically means the establishment of independent committees like NAIIC and discussion of important policies by such committees. He explains, “NAIIC is the first case of the legislative branch functioning successfully. Because it was independent from the government and electric power companies, it was able to maintain credibility. When making important decisions, such as how to deal with the problem of spent fuel, such a commission should be established as necessary.”

In its report, NAIIC presented seven recommendations to the National Diet. Regarding the establishment of a new regulatory agency, the report recommends, “the Diet should set up a committee through which the agency will be monitored” and “the agency must have a high level of independence and strong sense of responsibility regarding its duty.” However, Dr. Kurokawa comments, “I can’t say that is taking place right now.”

“The implementations of the recommendations of this Commission will be the first step in making true democracy work in this country. In the next general election, the people must confront candidates as to whether they have the intention of implementing the recommendations.”

Impact of Public Disclosure

–Both the cabinet and the private sector also set up their own investigation commissions, but the parliamentary panel focused particularly on the following points

“When conducting such an investigation, the investigators’ personal judgments usually have an effect. In order to prevent this as much as possible, the report tried to present only the facts, not the investigators’ personal udgments. The report did not use the phrases “nuclear village” or “safety myth.” If we use those words, readers would generally agree, “yes, that’s right.” We decided to only describe the facts in a straightforward manner.”

–Another major difference from the other commissions is that the committee meetings were made open to the public and the media

“All of the twenty commission meetings with hearings were made open to the public and were broadcast live on the website. Simultaneous English translations were also provided. It is important for the process to be transparent, and we wanted the people to see for themselves how the witnesses responded rather than the commission’s judgements.”

–Although there may have been advantages and disadvantages to public disclosure…

“We requested thirty-eight people to serve as witnesses at the commission hearings and not one declined. As TEPCO is a private company, it was not forced to submit its documents we requested, but if it declined we would only record and state that TEPCO would not release the documents. However, TEPCO ended up allowing us to inspect and view both their documents and the video records of the teleconferences among TEPCO Tokyo headquarter and Fukushima Daiichi Plant Operation Center. Media reacted strongly when the committee disclosed  the fact that there was no sound in the (teleconference) footage of when former Prime Minister Kan went into TEPCO headquarters. Later, in the end, TEPCO disclosed their records to the media. Thus, making our committee meetings open to the public was the right decision.”

Checking the Administrative Branch of the Government

–The report condemned the accident as “man-made”

“People in positions of power must act responsibly. What happens when they know but don’t do anything? It became awfully clear in this accident. Nuclear accidents have occurred in the past around the world. In the United States, after the Three Mile accident, an independent investigation report led by Dr Kemeny was released with specific recommendations similar to that of our report. What occurred thirty years ago in the U.S. repeated itself in this country. Japan knew about the Three Mile accident. Even if it did not know, Japan is a highly developed country that is even trying to export nuclear power technology. Knowing about it but not doing little by those responsible positions cannot be called anything other than a man-made disaster.”

–Why did this situation come about?

“During the period when energy shortages were a serious problem, developing nuclear power became a national policy of high priority. However, the bureaucracy only kept pushing the development forward, and there was no effective governance capability to put on the brakes when Japan needed it.”

–Does the problem lie within Japanese society?

“Both major private companies and the bureaucracy in Japan follow the seniority system within the same organization as a life-time employment. Since people are not necessarily chosen for their abilities, the problem arises that people at the higher posts can be incompetent. TEPCO is a company that has a monopoly of energy production and distribution in each regional areas. In such cases, energy companies become easily involved in regional elections and thus, in politics. Collusion became prominent as the direction shifted to everyone promoting nuclear power.”

–Does this mean that politicians are also responsible?

“In Japan, there is no mechanism to keep the Administrative branch of the government in check. The bureaucracy makes and implements almost all of the policies in Japan. So long as the bureaucracy is allowed to create the policies, they will continue to protect their interests and there will be no reason to change. NAIIC is probably the first time that the Legislative branch has functioned successfully.”

Thinking in Black and White Will Not Lead to The Answer

–Can Japanese society and politics change?

“If Japan does not use this commission report and this mechanism as an opportunity to change the governance of the Government, Japan will continue to sink. There is a need to reject the people at the top of public offices and public organizations who are incompetent thus irresponsible. The inclusion of more women, young people, and foreigners will bring about different ways of thinking and governance. Older generations will not produce different ideas and even if they do, they will tend to dismiss the new ideas.”

–The Establishment of the New Nuclear Regulatory Authority

“In our commission’s report, we recommended that regulatory bodies should adhere to the “no return rule” (officials are not allowed to return to their previous governmental agency) and that members should be individuals who intend to make nuclear regulation their careers. More Japanese should undergo training programs abroad. After ten years, they will have an international career and will be respected globally.”

–Should Japan continue to keep its nuclear power plants?

“It is necessary to think critically and to be aware of the changes in the world. Choosing between black or white, yes or no, is not the solution. We must take into account the history of the Three Power Source Development Laws (Dengen-Sanpo; the granting of subsidies to municipalities that allow the building of nuclear power plant sites). Change may not occur immediately, and there needs to be more discussion.”

Profile: Kiyoshi Kurokawa. Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. Born September 11, 1936. After graduating from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine, he moved to the United States in 1969 and was a research assistant at the Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In 1979, he became professor of Medicine at Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine. Returning to Japan in 1983, he became professor at University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine in 1989, and later Dean of Tokai University School of Medicine, president of the Science Council of Japan, as well as Science Advisor for the Cabinet of Japan under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2006. This year, he was chair of the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission, which investigated the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and submitted its report to the National Diet in July, calling the accident “man-made.”

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My second day in Nairobi.  There are many young Japanese people out there whose activities are noteworthy.  Most of them are involved in work done through JICA; but there are others who work at international organizations or are currently studying abroad.  They are involved in regions like Gabon, Congo, Kenya, Burundi, Senegal, and Palestine.  Most of them are young women, who have enormous presence and strength of will.

In addition, the efforts of the driving force behind the whole conference: Professor Yasuhide Nakamura of Osaka University and his team of students, Dr. de Los Reyes and doctorate students, as well as the people from HANDS(an organization that was born out of Professor Nakamura's efforts), have ensured the steady spread of their activities to Kenya and Ethiopia.

I also met some young Japanese students who, after studying abroad in America, have moved on to careers which take them to Africa.  Indeed, there are a lot of young people who are making a name for themselves.

Yesterday, I was overjoyed to receive the following e-mail from one of the participants whom I had met for the first time.

To Doctor Kiyoshi Kurokawa

I spoke with you at the MCH booklet conference today and am currently enrolled in a Masters course at the UCLA School of Public Health.  I have been in Kenya for the past two months.

Dr. Kurokawa's messages, like "challenge your self across disciplines and national borders, and meet different people", "turn your efforts towards the world" inspired me when I was still a medical student.  I went on to extern in US at an hospital, take courses for two months at a medical school in Canada, and also extern at a clinic set up by a NGO in East Timor.  I recall now that I although I was not fluent in English, I was very adventurous and I can only describe it as my being excited at being able to turn my efforts towards the world.  I remember reading your inspiring words sent to students of Tokai University, and I also enjoyed reading the diaries of students of my age of Tokai University doing externs in US medical center.

After graduating, I received training at Okinawa Prefectural Chubu Hospital, after which I went to a small island called Kumejima off the Okinawan coast where I gained clinical experience.  Here I was shocked and surprised at the fact that health disparity exists even within Japan, and this translated into a desire to learn more about social determinants of health, community empowerment, social capacity building, which
led me to UCLA where I enrolled in Community Health Sciences, all of which have led to my being in Kenya.

Of course I had no way of knowing that things would turn out this way, of determining my course with big dreams and ambitions.  But as I made decisions at each turning point in my life, often choosing something that interested me, I find myself quite far away from home.  I believe that my course in life was a result of my having learnt during my student years the joy of meeting different people and constantly being challenged.

During this stay at Kenya as well, I have had the opportunity to visit the home of one of my classmates at UCLA who comes from a small town in the country.  She suggested I go to her house, and I decided to
accept, and that is why I found myself on a crowded minibus known locally as a ‘matatu’ headed to my friend's house. Although they were not wealthy, they welcomed me with open arms and gave me love and affection, and when the time came to part ways, I found tears rolling down my cheeks.

The world is wide, yet is somehow similar.

My challenges and worries have not ended. I am still searching for a way in which to use what I have learnt.

I would like to express my appreciation for your inspiring words which have given me the strength to push on, and I am eagerly looking forward to more.

In the evening, we had special sessions for the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize (1, 2).  The program started off with a 'kamishibai' play about Hideyo Noguchi by a young man and woman from the UZIMA Foundation, an organization set up by Dr. Were.  This was followed by an overview of the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize using video images, an address by me as the chairperson, video footage of Miriam Were from Kenya, one of inaugural laureates of the prize at the TICAD4 held in Yokohama, a testimony by Tomohiko Sugishita, a surgeon who has been working in Africa for more than 10 years after being influenced by Hideyo Noguchi in his younger years and also his current study under Dr. Were and the moving story involved; the session was wrapped up by a passionate speech by Dr. Were.

The evening ended with a reception.  Mr. Yoichiro Yamada, Deputy Chief of Mission of Japanese Embassy in Kenya also attended.  Everybody danced together, and we spent a very enjoyable time.

Education which leads to young confident people who are making a difference in the world through their activities is a priority, and such young people are creating a foundation of trust across nations.