- 2014-10-07 22:26:24
Nuclear Power after 3.11: Have We Learned the 'Right' Lessons?
Date
October 9 (Thursday)Time
15:30 - 18:30Venue
Fukutake Hallhttp://fukutake.iii.u-tokyo.ac.jp/english/access.html
Keynote Speaker
- Dr. Charles Casto, (Former NRC Administrator and US Government Liaison during the Fukushima Nuclear Crisis)
Panelists
- Kurwokawa, Kyoshi
- Yoichi Funabashi, Yoichi
Program Director of the “Independent Investigation Commission on the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident”
- Suzuki Tatsujiro
- Fukuyama, Tetsuro
Organizers
- Sakura, Osamu
- Kyle Cleveland
Abstract
The Fukushima nuclear accident has provoked ongoing debate about the viability of nuclear energy in the aftermath of a disaster that has resulted in a crisis of institutional authority and questions about the safety of nuclear energy in Japan. Although Japan had long been admired for its efficiency and highly regulated organizational structures, when tested by the unprecedented natural disasters of the earthquake and tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster, the ensuing chaos and lack of coordination between government institutions and nuclear utilities in the crisis management has resulted in a loss of faith by the Japanese public and widespread concern about the safety of nuclear energy. Moreover, with an aging fleet of nuclear reactors sited in one of the most seismically active countries in the world, and with a newly conceived regulatory structure that continues to negotiate technological change, industry reform and seek public support, the future of nuclear energy in Japan remains uncertain.This symposium brings together government and nuclear authorities who were intimately involved in handling the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear crisis and scholars who have carefully analyzed the disaster to discuss the “lessons learned” from this experience, its social and political implications, and whether or not there is place for nuclear energy in Japan in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster.