Unscheduled and Unlimited Inspections Allowed at NPPs in Japan
A law was adopted In Japan allowing NPPs inspections without prior notification and access limitation to the information to be provided.
The Japanese Parliament approved a draft law permitting unscheduled NPPs inspections with free access to the information required for inspections.
The law got stricter on the recommendation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reported Kyodo News Agency, which required NPP inspection system to be more “flexible”.
The new system is based on US experience. It will operate since 2020 fiscal year (in March 2020) after development of new rules for inspection activity by the Japan Nuclear Regulatory Committee.
Since early 2016, IAEA experts checked efforts of the Japanese government in ensuring nuclear safety to find out if they meet the international standards. A campaign was started in Japan aimed at startup of all nuclear power plants after shutdown resulting from an accident, which was held with varying success.
