Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters
Government of Japan
- Introduction
The Tohoku District - off the Coast of Pacific Ocean Earthquake and tsunami caused by the earthquake attacked the Fukushima Dai-ichi and Fukushima Dai-ni Nuclear Power Stations (hereinafter referred to as “Fukushima NPS”) of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) at 14:46 on March 11, 2011 (JST, the same shall apply hereinafter) and nuclear accident followed at an unprecedented scale and over a lengthy period.
For Japan, the situation has become extremely severe since countermeasures to deal with the nuclear accident have had to be carried out along with dealing with the broader disaster caused by the earthquake and tsunami.
This nuclear accident has turned to be a major challenge for Japan, and Japan is now responding to the situation, with the relevant domestic organizations working together, and with support from many countries around the world. Japan also takes it very seriously and with remorse that this accident has raised concerns around the world about the safety of nuclear power generation. And above all Japan feels sincere regret for causing anxiety among the people all over the world about the safety of nuclear power facilities and the release of radioactive materials.
Currently, Japan is dealing with the issues and working towards restoration from the accident utilizing accumulated experience and knowledge. It is Japan’s responsibility to share correct and precise information with the world continuously in terms of what happened in Fukushima NPS, including details about how the events progressed, and how Japan has been working to settle the accident. Japan also recognizes it as its responsibility to share with the world the lessons it has learned from this process.
This report is prepared based on the recognition mentioned above, as the report from Japan for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety which will be convened in June 2011. The Government-TEPCO Integrated Response Office is engaged in working toward restoration from the accident under the supervision of Mr. Banri Kaieda, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in conjunction with and joining forces with the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, and TEPCO. Preparation of this report was carried out by the Government Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters in considering the approach taken by the Government-TEPCO Integrated Response Office toward restoration, and by hearing the opinions from outside experts. The work has been managed as a whole by Mr. Goshi Hosono, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, who was designated by the Prime Minister Kan in his capacity as General Manager of the Government Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters (GNER HQs).
This report is a preliminary accident report, and represents a summary of the evaluation of the accident and the lessons learned to date based on the facts gleaned about the situation so far. In terms of the range of the summary, technical matters related to nuclear safety and nuclear emergency preparedness and responses at this moment are centered on, and issues related to compensation for nuclear damage and the wider societal effects and so on are not included.
On top of preparing this report, the Government has established the “Investigation Committee on the Accidents at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power Company” (hereinafter referred to as “the Investigation Committee”) in order to provide an overall investigation of the utility of countermeasures being taken against the accident that has occurred in Fukushima NPS. In this Investigation Committee, independence from Japan’s existing nuclear energy administration, openness to the public and international community, and comprehensiveness in examining various issues related not only to technical elements but also to institutional aspects, are stressed. These concepts are used as the base to strictly investigate all activities undertaken so far, including activities by the Government in terms of countermeasures against the accident. The contents of this report will also be investigated by the Investigation Committee, and the progress of the investigation activities will be released to the world.
Japan’s basic policy is to release the information about this accident with a high degree of transparency. In terms of the preparation of this report under this policy, we have paid attention to providing as accurately as possible an exact description of the facts of the situation, together with an objective evaluation of countermeasures against the accidents, providing a clear distinction between known and unknown matters. Factual descriptions are based on the things that were found by May 31, this year.
Japan intends to exert all its power to properly tackle the investigation and analysis of this accident, and to continue to provide those outcomes to both to the IAEA and to the world as a whole.