Description
This book presents the first comprehensive comparative study of nuclear safety governance in East Asia and Europe, offering a novel analytical framework for explaining why regional cooperation has achieved coherence in some regions—notably Europe—while remaining fragmented in others, such as East Asia. Drawing on insights from network governance, highâreliability organization theory, and risk governance, the volume demonstrates how Europe’s WENRAâcentered model has fostered regulatory convergence and effective crossâborder crisis coordination without relying on supranational authority. By contrast, Japan, China, and South Korea continue to face persistent challenges of institutional fragmentation, political mistrust, and uneven regulatory capacity, despite shared risks and deep interdependence.
At the core of the book is a proposal for a TRM+âcentered governance architecture tailored to the political, institutional, and historical conditions of East Asia. The analysis identifies concrete pathways for harmonizing nuclear safety standards, strengthening emergency response coordination, and developing an epistemic infrastructure capable of sustaining longâterm regional cooperation. By integrating technical, political, and sociological perspectives, the book advances a new understanding of how regions can collectively manage transboundary technological risks and lays the conceptual groundwork for the emergence of a future “nuclear safety society” in East Asia.
Table of Contents
Preface.- Part I Advancing Nuclear Safety for Accident Prevention in East Asia.- Analysis of the Harmonization Process and Achievements of Nuclear Power Safety Regulatory Levels in WENRA.- The Formation and Evolution of the Periodic Safety Review System in East Asia.- Institutionalizing WANO Best Practices in East Asia Operating Experience Training Systems and the Prospects for Regional Harmonization.- Part II Building Mutual Trust in Managing Radiological Risks during Nuclear Emergencies.Governing Spent Nuclear Fuel Beyond National Borders Institutionalizing Trust in East Asia.- A Comparative Survey of Perceptions on Nuclear Power Plant Safety and the Discharge of ALPS Treated Water among Residents in Capital Cities of China Japan and South Korea.- Evacuation Governance in Nuclear Emergencies Institutional Comparison between Japan and the United Kingdom.- Part III Establishing an International Framework for Close Nuclear Safety Cooperation in East Asia.- Governing Transboundary Nuclear Risk in East Asia Coordination among Japan China and South Korea over the Fukushima ALPS Treated Water Ocean Discharge Issue.- Science Trust and Cooperation in Transboundary Environmental Risk Lessons from the Fukushima ALPSTreated Water Discharge.- Nuclear Safety Governance in East Asia European Hard Soft Governance Lessons and the TRMCentered Model.
