社説：保安院もやらせ 信頼の底が抜けた

(Mainichi Japan) July 30, 2011
Accusations of public opinion manipulation by NISA have damaged trust
社説：保安院もやらせ　信頼の底が抜けた

Revelations that the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) may have attempted to manipulate public opinion on nuclear energy have badly damaged the credibility of the nuclear regulator.
　中部電力と四国電力が、プルサーマル計画に関し、国が過去に主催したシンポジウムをめぐり、経済産業省原子力安全・保安院から、参加者の動員や「やらせ質問」を依頼されていたことを発表した。

It's like the thief you caught red-handed turned out to be a police officer.
　これでは、泥棒を捕まえてみればお巡りさんだった、ということではないか。

Chubu Electric Power Co. and Shikoku Electric Power Co. have said that in the past, NISA asked them to have insiders attend government-sponsored symposia on a "pluthermal" project and only ask panelists non-damaging questions.
質問が反対派に偏るのを避けるため、計画に肯定的な質問をしてもらうのが目的だったという。

If NISA, whose role is to examine the structure and equipment of nuclear power plants and ensure their safety, has in fact attempted to lead public opinion, it is a serious problem.
　原発の構造や設備などを審査し、安全を確保する役目の保安院が、プルサーマル計画推進のために、世論を誘導しようとしたのであれば、極めて罪深い。

To restore the public's trust, the government must get to the bottom of this scandal and review the role of NISA.
国民の信頼を取り戻すには、事実関係を徹底的に調査し、保安院のあり方を早急に見直すしかない。

Leading to these new revelations was the news that Kyushu Electric Power Co. asked insiders and subsidiary companies to send e-mails supporting resumption of halted reactors at its Genkai Nuclear Power Plant in Saga Prefecture to a TV program.
　発端は九州電力が、関連会社に対し、玄海原発（佐賀県玄海町）の再稼働を支持する電子メールを投稿するよう依頼した「やらせメール」問題だった。

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry took the incident seriously and instructed power suppliers to conduct in-house investigations for any more similar problems, which is how the latest case emerged.
事態を重く見た経産省が、同様の問題がなかったかどうか、電力各社に調査を指示したところ、今回の「やらせ依頼」が判明した。

The most recent incident has further deepened public distrust in the nuclear power industry and the government regulator, who seem to have paid little heed to public opinion.
民意を軽視するのが、「原子力ムラ」の体質なのだろうか。国民の不信感は深まるばかりだ。

The public is divided over nuclear power because of safety concerns, and the pluthermal project -- in which fuel with plutonium mixed in is used in regular reactors -- was controversial.
　安全性への疑問が付いて回る原発には、賛否両論がある。プルトニウムを混ぜた燃料を通常の原子炉で燃やすプルサーマル計画も激しい論争を呼んだ。

The NISA organized symposia on the project were supposed to be for sincerely listening to the opinions of residents in areas that were to host the project and make a decision through a democratic process.
だからこそ、立地自治体の住民の声を真摯（しんし）に聞き、民主的な意思決定を目指したのではなかったか。

If NISA attempted to manipulate public opinion on the project, they have betrayed the public's trust.
保安院の「やらせ依頼」は、そうしたプロセスに期待してきた国民の信頼を踏みにじるものだ。

In the first place, there is a major problem with the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, which promotes nuclear power policy, and NISA, which is supposed to pull the brakes on nuclear power when necessary to for safety reasons, coexisting under the umbrella of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, because top-ranking bureaucrats involved in policymaking cycle between the ministry, the agency and NISA every few years.
　もともと、原発推進にアクセルを踏む資源エネルギー庁と、安全確保のためにブレーキを踏む役目の保安院が、経産省内で併存していることに無理があった。実際、政策の意思決定に関わる幹部職員は、数年のサイクルで本省、エネ庁、保安院間を異動する。

Under these circumstances, it is difficult for NISA to maintain independence as a nuclear power regulator.
これでは、保安院が厳格な独立性を保つのは難しいはずだ。

Both electric power companies and the government are under mounting criticism since the crisis at the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, and even nuclear reactors that other plants that have finished regular safety inspections have not been able to be restarted.
　東京電力福島第１原発の事故で、電力会社、政府双方に対する国民の視線は厳しさを増すばかりだ。点検を終えた原発も再稼働できない事態が続いている。

These latest revelations have surely only made it more difficult for a resumption of those operations.
今回の問題で、再稼働へのハードルはさらに高まったといえるだろう。

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda -- who has bitterly criticized Kyushu Electric Power for its e-mail scandal and demanded that its president step down -- has to take this scandal seriously.
　九電のやらせメール問題を厳しく批判し、社長の辞任を求めていた海江田万里経産相は、足元から噴出した問題を深刻に受け止めなければなるまい。

He has, of course, announced that the ministry will set up a third-party fact-finding panel to investigate the incident, but the government needs to take all possible measures, including making NISA an independent agency, in order to prevent a recurrence of this scandal and to restore the public's confidence.
第三者委員会を作って、事実関係を徹底的に調査する意向を表明したが、当然だ。福島の事故前から私たちが主張してきた保安院の分離独立も含め、再発防止、信頼回復への取り組みを急ぐべきだ。

毎日新聞　2011年7月30日　2時30分