Nuclear Power Safety and Governance in East Asia

Confronting the challenges of nuclear power governance, this book provides pathways to nuclear safety cooperation between countries in East Asia where regional cooperation is challenged by geopolitical tensions.

The book is split into three parts: first looking at nuclear risk and safety communications, second on nuclear policy and harmonization of safety standards, and third a comparative analysis of nuclear regulatory agencies in East Asia. Taken as a whole, the contributors recommend the establishment of a nuclear safety system that, which allows for mutual verification of safety standards at the regional level, and a regulatory framework with international credibility, which will help standardize risk communication. They suggest that the exchange of experiences involving nuclear power plant safety, efforts toward common safety standards, safety management, and collaborative efforts between Japan, China, and South Korea are extremely urgent issues. By comparing the European system of nuclear governance with that of East Asia, the book highlights the need for nuclear safety organizations in East Asia to strengthen interconnections and build regional linkages.

This book will be of interest to policymakers, academics, and researchers in the field of energy policy, energy economics, nuclear safety, nuclear governance, and nuclear engineering.

Soocheol Lee is a Professor at the Faculty of Economics, Meijo University, in Japan. He graduated from Seoul National University and received his PhD at the Graduate School of Kyoto University. He had worked for the Federation of Korean Industry as a team leader of the Economic Research Department. He has written many books and papers on energy and environmental policy design and cooperation for sustainable low-carbon economy in East Asia. He was the Vice President of Asian Association of Environmental and Resource Economics, September 1, 2021, August 31, 2023.

Weisheng Zhou is a Professor at the College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University, in Japan. He is a Foreign Fellow of the Engineering Academy of Japan. He graduated from Zhejiang University and received his PhD from the Graduate School of Kyoto University. He has served as a chief researcher and research consultant at the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth, a special professor at Osaka University. His books include East Asian Low-Carbon Community (Springer, 2021).

Kiyoshi Fujikawa is a Professor at the Faculty of Economics, Aichi Gakuin University, in Japan. He graduated from Kobe University in Japan and received his PhD there. He had worked at the Department of Economics and Social Affairs in the United Nations as a statistician before teaching in Japan. He has made significant contributions to application of input–output analysis on environmental economics. And he was the President of Pan Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies.