Tokyo: Japan's Cabinet has approved a plan to expand the main nuclear regulatory agency and move it to the Environment Ministry from the Trade Ministry where it has been criticised as being too cozy with the industry it regulates.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said on Monday the new agency will also oversee nuclear security, radiation monitoring and crisis management.
The existing agency drew increased scrutiny after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant suffered melting reactor cores after this year's massive tsunami. The agency was criticised partly for being part of the same agency that promotes nuclear energy.
Establishing the new agency will require parliamentary approval. It is planned for launch next April.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, August 15, 2011, 16:40