Corruption 5 - Yakuza and Japanese Nuclear Industry
I have mentioned in a previous blog about the involvement of the Yakuza, the Japanese criminal syndicates, in the nuclear industry in Japan. For decades, they have supplied cheap labor to the nuclear industry. They are connected to the real estate market and construction industry in Japan. Their influence reaches into government. The pervasive presence of the Yakuza in the Japanese nuclear industry has been getting increase scrutiny lately because of Fukushima. Recently, a Yakuza member was arrested for skimming off the wages of temp workers hired for the Fukushima cleanup.
One major concern that has been raised is the fact that there is no requirement of a comprehensive background check for employment at nuclear plants in Japan. This is understandable if they are hiring people from the underworld including convicts, people hiding from the police, drug addicts, etc. Of course they don’t want background checks.
There are a number of problems related to this lack of background checks. The first question would be whether or not the person being hired is actually competent to do their job. If they have drug problems they may be under the influence of drugs when they are at work. There are enough problems at Japanese power plants without the risk of mistakes by incompetent or stoned workers.
Second, the radioactive materials in nuclear facilities are in demand in the black market and would fetch a high price. If a thief is working at a nuclear plant and there is profit to be made in stealing uranium or plutonium, why would he hesitate?
Third, there have been attacks by terrorists in Japan with chemical weapons. Wouldn’t such terrorists also be tempted to construct a dirty bomb from radioactive materials? Who would know if a terrorist or a person with ties to terrorists was working at a Japanese nuclear plant?
And, finally, a terrorist could just sabotage a nuclear plant and endanger millions of Japanese.. There are many different actions that could put a nuclear plant at risk if there was a motivation to cause a release of radioactive material.
Fortunately, the Japanese Nuclear Regulatory Authority is finally seriously considering putting measure in place for the thorough investigation of the background of anyone applying for work at a nuclear plant. They should also check everyone currently employed in the nuclear industry while they are at it.
Apparently security at the nuclear sites in Japan for people entering and leaving is also a problem. There was lax security during the Fukushima disaster where people entering and leaving the site were not properly processed through a security system. TEPCO is still unable to locate dozens of workers who were present at the time of the Fukushima disaster two years after the event.
Japan is a key player in the global nuclear industry. Companies in Japan are currently manufacturing reactors and parts for reactors for export to other countries. There is evidence of connections between companies manufacturing nuclear components and the Yakuza. Recently the NRA of Japan was charged with failing to certify over 10,000 components used at the Monju fast breeder reactor. It is unclear whether this is just incompetence or corruption. The fact that the Yakuza is deeply involved with the Japanese nuclear industry is not just a problem for Japan. Nuclear accidents or sabotage inside Japan can affect the entire world as Fukushima proved and export of faulty reactor components to nuclear power plants in other countries directly threatens people outside of Japan with their own nuclear disasters.
Sign warning about Yakuza:
