Citizens' Commission on Nuclear Energy Established, Aiming at Fundamental Reform of Nuclear Energy Policy

Copyright Takagi Fund for Citizen Science

The Citizens' Commission on Nuclear Energy (CCNE) was established on April 15, 2013, as a platform for citizens to make policy proposals toward the formulation of a nuclear-power-free society. The Takagi Fund for Citizen Science, an NPO that was established following the last will and testament of nuclear chemist Jinzaburo Takagi, is serving as the administrative office of the commission. (Takagi devoted his life to achieving a nuclear-free society, and the fund focuses on cultivating the next generation of "Citizen Scientists.") The CCNE consists of 11 members including academic experts, NGO personnel, and lawyers.

The CCNE will address four primary issues, and has established the following four separate working groups for the four issues: the Working Group for Supporting Fukushima Area and Disaster Victims, the Working Group for Management and Disposal of Nuclear Waste, the Nuclear-Free Roadmap Working Group, and the Nuclear Regulation Working Group. Each group will set up discussion forums involving a wide range of people.

Other participants in addition to the commission members include 19 experts in related fields, who serve as working group members, and 18 advisors including Junko Edahiro, Chief Executive of Japan for Sustainability (numbers are as of April 15). The CCNE will provide public workshops and other opportunities for discussion, and will present the first "Framework for Nuclear-Free Energy Policy" in March 2014. In the future, the commission intends to convey the fruits of their labors and propose a policy outline to government-affiliated agencies as well as citizens. Harutoshi Funabashi, a professor of Hosei University and Director of the CCNE, expressed his enthusiasm for their activities. "We are going to deal with important points the Japan Atomic Energy Commission has not addressed, and strive to establish a framework in which we can continue discussion with nuclear power advocates."

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