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Safety
At Stake / Internal Threats Need Attention
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States
there have been a number of other significant terrorist attacks
in the world. Also, the threat of new diseases and cyberterrorism
has grown. Is Japan fully prepared to deal with such threats?
This fifth installment of the latest "Planning National Strategies"
series focuses on changes in society needed to handle threats.
After an incident involving a large remote-controlled Self-Defense
Forces helicopter hovering over a nuclear power plant, the government
received a fax that said: "A chopper could crash due to running
out of fuel after flying for a long time. The only way to avoid
a disaster is to shut down all the nuclear power plants that are
running and those being inspected."
The scenario is from the novel "Tenku no Hachi" (Bees
in the Sky), by popular novelist Keigo Higashino.
The story is about employees of a nuclear power-related firm who
launch a terrorist attack.
Terrorist attacks on nuclear facilities could come in two forms.
One is an external threat, meaning terrorists attack a facility
from outside. The other is an internal threat, in which employees
of a nuclear power plant destroy the facility or steal nuclear
materials. "Tenku no Hachi" is a story about this second
type of attack.
In September, the Education, Science and Technology Ministry's
panel on controlling the safety of research reactors, which supervises
nuclear research organizations, compiled a report on measures
to deal with internal threats.
The report listed examples of internal threats, including employees
being bribed or coerced and employees carrying out illegal acts
for ideological or religious reasons.
The central control room and fuel storage facilities of nuclear
power plants could be attacked by those who can enter unescorted.
Staff members privy to classified information on protecting nuclear
materials also could pose an internal threat.
Specifically, in addition to employees of electric power firms
and nuclear research institutes, subcontractors, security guards
and facility maintenance workers could conduct terrorist attacks.
In Japan, electric power firms and research institutes are tasked
with checking their employees' backgrounds.
A senior staffer of a nuclear research institute said that employees'
resumes do not show whether they have criminal records.
"No one knows whether they have debts, so it's difficult
to take countermeasures for internal threats," he said.
Major European countries and the United States have a system allowing
them to use state information on criminals to confirm the trustworthiness
of employees and identify suspicious characters.
In the United States, operators of nuclear-related institutes
inquire with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other organizations
to see whether their employees have criminal records and debts
in their past and also to check for alcohol or drug addiction.
In Britain, the government checks whether such employees have
criminal records or debts. Military recruits, law enforcement
officers and intelligence agents also are subject to background
checks on the ground that personal privacy has to take a back
seat to the country's security and risk management.
Japan, which has relied on the belief that employees are inherently
good, had to adopt a background check system after the International
Atomic Energy Agency demanded in the 1999 Physical Protection
of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities Rev. 4 that member
countries determine the trustworthiness of their employees.
The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry's subcommittee on nuclear
disaster prevention, which supervises commercial nuclear power
plants, compiled in June a report on measures to cope with internal
adversaries at nuclear facilities.
The report says the government should establish a system for cross-sectional
background checks on officials responsible for defense and law
and order.
The education ministry's report also contains a similar recommendation.
The two reports said ministries and agencies have to thoroughly
discuss the problem, meaning that because one ministry alone cannot
do it, the Cabinet Office, which governs the entire administration,
should take the initiative.
After receiving the report, a senior official of the office said
it should continue discussing the problem because background checks
are needed to prevent terrorism.
In other words, the proposal was shelved.
An official in charge of terrorism prevention said none of the
ministries and agencies want to order background checks for fear
of infringing on privacy.
"Without public support, they're shunning responsibility,"
he said.
Since background checks could infringe on privacy, ministries
and agencies are handling the problem with kid gloves.
The government has yet to map out a way to balance countermeasures
for crises with protection of individual rights.
Oct. 26, 2005
Source: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20051026TDY04004.htm
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