On September 19, 2012 Japan launched a new independent nuclear regulatory body. The new body has been formed in response to the claims that the comfortable relationships and an overly powerful industry were responsible for the Fukushima disaster.
But the critics have said that the Nuclear Regulation Agency is a watchdog without any teeth and the installation of an insider to head the organization was a cause of business as usual. But the lawmakers have said that the appointment of Shunichi Tanaka as the chairmen of the nuclear body was questionable as he has earlier served in key positions in the entities which contributed to the nuclear energy drive of Japan.
But the Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda went ahead and appointed Tanaka after he pledged to keep a distance from the nuclear power plant operators. The new nuclear watchdog has been formed after the ministers suggested that the government had not quite fully approved the plan to phase out the nuclear energy in the 2030s despite the announcement of its end last week.
After the Fukushima disaster last year in the month of March, Japan has face heavy criticism from International and domestic critics over the close relationship between nuclear power companies, the regulators who are supposed to police them and the government.
