Japan to consider new police unit for guarding nuclear plants: PM

Mar 15, 2022 | News On Japan

Mar 15, 2022 (Nikkei) - Japan will consider creating a police unit to protect the country's nuclear plants, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday in the wake of Russia's takeover of Ukrainian nuclear facilities.

"There is a growing interest in Japan regarding the safety of nuclear power plants," Kishida said at a parliamentary upper house budget meeting.

He cited central Japan's Fukui Prefecture, which operates a police unit to guard such plants.

"It is important to consider whether we can expand the initiative in Fukui," he said, calling for a review and debate regarding the prefecture's efforts.

In terms of the Russian attacks on the Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear plants in Ukraine, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said the government will consider providing assistance to Ukraine on decontamination and anti-radiation treatments if necessary. ...continue reading

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