Repeated and shifting demands by Japan’s regulatory authorities have stalled nuclear research, radiation medicine, and education.
University research reactors remain shut down, forcing students to study abroad and reversing Japan’s former role as a leader in nuclear education.
This regulatory paralysis harms not only Japan but also the progress and well-being of humanity as a whole.

This is a continuation of the previous chapter.
2016-01-05
Through my reporting so far, I have seen many cases in which the regulatory commission issues new demands every time a review is conducted.
One is tempted to ask whether the commission is learning how to regulate while conducting on-the-job training.
The current situation, in which they determine the direction of nuclear research and even halt the progress of radiation medicine, is a misfortune not only for Japan but for all of humanity.
The impact does not stop at cancer treatment alone.
Both research and education are at a standstill.
With the shutdown of university research reactors, students have lost places where they can learn.
As a last resort, Kindai University has sent its students to Suwon, South Korea, where they are studying at the test research reactor of Kyung Hee University.
There was a time when Japan welcomed approximately twenty elite students every year from six Korean universities, including Kyung Hee University and Seoul National University, and educated them at the Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute.
Given this complete reversal of positions, it is only natural that anyone, not just Mr. Une Aya, would feel that it is “pathetic.”
Maintaining one’s position as a pioneer across all fields of research is a national interest and the foundation of the Japanese people’s well-being.
The government must correct the regulatory commission’s misguided regulations and establish expert panels so that the commission can function properly.
And it must strengthen the Diet’s oversight function so that medicine and research are not trapped in a state of total paralysis.