Transport of Radioactive Soil and Waste to the Fukushima Interim Storage Facility—From Organizational Arrangement Perspectives

The Ministry of the Environment of Japan started transport of radioactive soil and waste to the Fukushima Interim Storage Facility in March 2015 following the decontamination works from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station disaster in March 2011. Although it was an unprecedented challenge and seemed unfit for the ministry with mainly regulatory functions, the ministry prepared the transport plan and smoothly started the initial works. This article reviews the planning and initial implementation processes mainly from the organizational arrangement perspectives. In addition to the organization’s original expertise and experiences, the organization’s absorptive capacity that stemmed from organizational culture contributed to the smooth implementation. It is recommended that organization’s absorptive capacity be considered when setting up implementation arrangements for responses to an unprecedented challenge that requires quick decisions and flexible actions.