Japan nuclear safety team took utility money

TOKYO (AP) ? A Japanese nuclear watchdog says members of a government team assigned to set reactor safety measures received funding from utility companies or atomic industry manufacturers.

Taking the money was legal but raises questions of independence since the industry would benefit from laxer standards.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority says Nagoya University Professor Akio Yamamoto received 27.14 million yen ($339,000) over the past three years for research on reactors. That includes 6.28 million yen ($79,000) from a subsidiary ykageof the utility that runs the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant sent into meltdowns last year.

The authority said Friday that three others on the standards team received industry funding.

Before, regulators were in the same ministry that promotes the industry. The commission was set up this year after calls for a more independent watchdog.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-11-03-Japan-Nuclear/id-9a5b9d0393974334bfc503e9c9ef60d5

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