More than one year has passed since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (hereinafter referred to as the Fukushima Daiichi Accident).It is with a heavy heart that we must acknowledge the fact that the Accident has forced a large number of people into life in evacuation and dealt a serious impact on local industries.Those of us involved in the nuclear energy industry must once again recognize the serious amount of responsibility we must bear in engaging in nuclear power generation.

It goes without saying that the Fukushima Daiichi Accident has severely affected nuclear regulations, energy policies and nuclear power generation businesses all around the world.Being involved in the activities of INPO and WANO(*) myself, I had opportunities to come in contact with numerous parties involved in nuclear energy, including electric utilities overseas.During those encounters, I saw those parties sincerely accepting the impact of the Fukushima Daiichi Accident, and INPO, WANO and other nuclear operators abroad making serious efforts to develop a new mechanism for ensuring never to let such an accident occur again.In view of such circumstances, Japan, the country where the accident occurred, has the responsibility to distribute information about the accident and safety measures that other countries might be able to use as reference.JANTI recognizes this as one of the important tasks we must take on.

In light of the Fukushima Daiichi Accident and the issue that occurred in our neighboring country recently, we have come to renew our realization that unfailing efforts to enhance organizational safety culture are essential to maintain nuclear energy as a commercial business.The Safety Culture Division has been working on incorporating the knowledge obtained from the Fukushima Daiichi Accident into assessment initiatives such as peer reviews and support operations for safety culture, since last fiscal year.From the perspective of safety culture, the Division will continue to take on the task of reflecting our “recognition of nuclear technology’s special nature” and “the questioning and learning attitude” to specific activities.

Finally, let me refer to my mottos, i.e. “professionalism” and “engaged, thinking organization”.As a professional with a mission to make social contributions through “nuclear energy”, I am committed to having the attitude of continuous learning, the sense of judgment and execution capabilities.I am also dedicated to developing an organization whereby all members from senior management to field personnel recognize their respective roles and responsibilities, and actively become involved in their work duties.I intend to live up to these mottos, which are my own interpretations of words taken from INPO documents.

Any opinions and requests from our members would be sincerely appreciated.

(*) INPO: Institute of Nuclear Power Operations
　 　WANO: World Association of Nuclear Operators