Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Japan Nuclear Plants Are Vulnerable to Terror Attacks
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/07/when-will-nuclear-terror-hit-japan.html
Japan Nuclear Plants Are Vulnerable to Terror Attacks
Poor nuclear security is endemic at Japanese power stations. It’s a ludicrous risk, not only for the Japanese, but for the world.
written by
Jake Adelstein
Mari Yamamoto
04.07.16 9:19 AM ET
TOKYO — Given the febrile global security atmosphere, recent revelations that those responsible for the Brussels attacks also scoped out Belgium’s nuclear facilities have, understandably, caused great consternation in many countries.
In Japan, however, the issue of nuclear security is treated with a strangely insouciant attitude by the authorities; unarmed guards keep watch outside of nuclear facilities, there is poor surveillance of sites and, incredibly, there are no mandated background checks on workers, allowing members of organized crime gangs access to radioactive material.
<snip>
There is every reason to believe Japan is a target of the so-called Islamic State, which was behind the horrific slaughter in Paris in November and in Brussels in March.
Early last year, amid worldwide outrage about the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a speech in the Middle East vowing assistance to states “contending” with ISIS. That led to a de facto declaration of war against Japan by the jihadists and may have contributed to the death of a journalist they held captive.
Yet there is no serious effort to rethink the nuclear security issue. One adviser to the National Police Agency told The Daily Beast, on condition of anonymity, “The game has changed. We are not keeping up. We can’t trust the utility companies to deal with internal threats by themselves—they have neither the willpower nor the capability. We don’t have to worry so much about terrorists breaking down doors and blowing up nuclear power plants—we have to worry about them filling out job applications and just walking in.”
<snip>
But what is most disturbing to Japan’s law enforcement community is that long-debated plans to mandate background checks on nuclear facility workers in conjunction with the police have been effectively scrapped since the accident—even though they may be needed now more than ever.
Japan’s Nuclear Reprocessing Center at Rokkasho, in Aomori Prefecture, which is supposed to restart operations this year, is designed to produce eight tons of plutonium annually—enough to fuel more than 2,600 warheads. The International Atomic Energy Agency is supposed to ensure that plutonium cannot be removed or leak from the Rokkasho plant without detection. But the system it has installed there is only 99 percent accurate, meaning that, theoretically, enough plutonium for over 20 nuclear bombs a year could still be spirited away without a trace.
<snip>
In December of 2013, the Abe administration passed into law the State Secrets Act, which gave the government sweeping powers to classify information and also to do background checks on government workers—including civilian contractors. Prime Minister Abe insisted that the law was necessary for Japan’s national security. Everything was in place for the government to finally mandate checks on nuclear workers to make sure they could be trusted in these facilities. And then very quietly, such plans were scrapped.
<snip>
Investigative journalist Satoshi Kamata, who has been reporting on nuclear issues in Japan for decades, said last year at a press conference, “The reason the government won’t require background checks has little to do with concern for privacy or individual rights. There simply aren’t enough workers to get the job done if they start weeding people out. That’s the reality of the nuclear industry in Japan—it’s a dirty, dangerous job that no one wants to do. Getting the plants running again trumps all other concerns.”
<snip>
Japan Nuclear Plants Are Vulnerable to Terror Attacks
Poor nuclear security is endemic at Japanese power stations. It’s a ludicrous risk, not only for the Japanese, but for the world.
written by
Jake Adelstein
Mari Yamamoto
04.07.16 9:19 AM ET
TOKYO — Given the febrile global security atmosphere, recent revelations that those responsible for the Brussels attacks also scoped out Belgium’s nuclear facilities have, understandably, caused great consternation in many countries.
In Japan, however, the issue of nuclear security is treated with a strangely insouciant attitude by the authorities; unarmed guards keep watch outside of nuclear facilities, there is poor surveillance of sites and, incredibly, there are no mandated background checks on workers, allowing members of organized crime gangs access to radioactive material.
<snip>
There is every reason to believe Japan is a target of the so-called Islamic State, which was behind the horrific slaughter in Paris in November and in Brussels in March.
Early last year, amid worldwide outrage about the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a speech in the Middle East vowing assistance to states “contending” with ISIS. That led to a de facto declaration of war against Japan by the jihadists and may have contributed to the death of a journalist they held captive.
Yet there is no serious effort to rethink the nuclear security issue. One adviser to the National Police Agency told The Daily Beast, on condition of anonymity, “The game has changed. We are not keeping up. We can’t trust the utility companies to deal with internal threats by themselves—they have neither the willpower nor the capability. We don’t have to worry so much about terrorists breaking down doors and blowing up nuclear power plants—we have to worry about them filling out job applications and just walking in.”
<snip>
But what is most disturbing to Japan’s law enforcement community is that long-debated plans to mandate background checks on nuclear facility workers in conjunction with the police have been effectively scrapped since the accident—even though they may be needed now more than ever.
Japan’s Nuclear Reprocessing Center at Rokkasho, in Aomori Prefecture, which is supposed to restart operations this year, is designed to produce eight tons of plutonium annually—enough to fuel more than 2,600 warheads. The International Atomic Energy Agency is supposed to ensure that plutonium cannot be removed or leak from the Rokkasho plant without detection. But the system it has installed there is only 99 percent accurate, meaning that, theoretically, enough plutonium for over 20 nuclear bombs a year could still be spirited away without a trace.
<snip>
In December of 2013, the Abe administration passed into law the State Secrets Act, which gave the government sweeping powers to classify information and also to do background checks on government workers—including civilian contractors. Prime Minister Abe insisted that the law was necessary for Japan’s national security. Everything was in place for the government to finally mandate checks on nuclear workers to make sure they could be trusted in these facilities. And then very quietly, such plans were scrapped.
<snip>
Investigative journalist Satoshi Kamata, who has been reporting on nuclear issues in Japan for decades, said last year at a press conference, “The reason the government won’t require background checks has little to do with concern for privacy or individual rights. There simply aren’t enough workers to get the job done if they start weeding people out. That’s the reality of the nuclear industry in Japan—it’s a dirty, dangerous job that no one wants to do. Getting the plants running again trumps all other concerns.”
<snip>
