Statement by Minister Takehiro Kano at the IAEA Board of Governors Meeting on 12 June 2017
2017/6/12
Agenda Item 2: Annual Report for 2016
Thank you, Mr. Chair,
The Annual Report for 2016 provides a useful overview of the wide range of activities carried out by the Agency in the past year. I would like to take this opportunity to make remarks on some of the activities by the IAEA.
At the outset, I would like to reiterate Japan’s full, unequivocal support for the important work of the Agency in the areas of nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear energy. In May, Foreign Minister Kishida participated in the first preparatory committee of the 2020 NPT Review Conference. In his statement, Foreign Minister Kishida emphasized the importance of the NPT in realizing a world free of nuclear weapons, and Japan’s commitment to achieving a successful 2020 Review Conference. In this connection, I wish to stress the important role of the IAEA in maintaining and strengthening the NPT regime, and we are fully committed to cooperating with the Agency.
Mr. Chair,
In the area of nuclear safety, Japan is continuously working with the IAEA in order to strengthen international cooperation, drawing on the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi Accident.
Over 6 years has passed since the accident. Japan has been providing updated information on the progress in the recovery operation at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and in Fukushima Prefecture in a comprehensive and timely manner to the IAEA Secretariat. The information has been uploaded on the IAEA website with Secretariat’s comments. The latest information has just been updated on 7th of June. We will continue to make utmost effort for recovery from the accident.
Effective public communication to ensure transparency in nuclear safety continues to be highly priority for Japan. Japan will continue to work with the Agency in sharing with the Member States information on the Fukushima Daiichi accident as well as any other cases related to nuclear safety in an appropriate manner.
We believe it is important that knowledge and expertise on Emergency Preparedness and Response are shared with the international community. Since its establishment, the IAEA RANET-CBC in Fukushima has played a significant role in this respect by hosting a variety of workshops on the EPR, and so does in 2017.
Also, I wish to draw the attention of the Board that activities at the RANET-CBC now go beyond the area of nuclear emergency. For example, this year, it plans to conduct a capacity building project related to the use of non-destructive testing techniques to measure vulnerability in the buildings affected by earthquakes, floods or other natural disasters.
We appreciate the contribution that the IAEA RANET-CBC in Fukushima has been making.
Japan has implemented ‘Marine Monitoring Project’ in cooperation with the IAEA since 2014. We believe that this cooperation has reinforced the credibility of the information from Japan on the treatment of the contaminated water of Fukushima Daiichi Accident.
I wish to express Japan’s deep appreciation for Agency’s support in this area. Further, we believe that the development of analysis and assessment method through such projects could make contributions on a broader scale to improving the environmental assessment using nuclear related technology.
In this regard, Japan decided to support the procurement for the IAEA Environmental Laboratory in Monaco of new equipment for measuring concentration of radioactive nuclides. It is expected that the Laboratory and other institutions of the Member States will be able to use these equipment to make further progress on the analysis of the effect of radioactive nuclides to the ecosystem and build relevant databases.
Mr. Chair,
Last, but not least, Japan recognizes that nuclear security is one important area where the IAEA is expected to play a central role of facilitating international cooperation. Japan has continued to provide funding for the Nuclear Security Fund in order to support Agency’s activities in capacity building to strengthen nuclear security worldwide. We will work closely with the Secretariat with a view to timely implementation of projects to be supported by our latest contribution.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The Annual Report for 2016 provides a useful overview of the wide range of activities carried out by the Agency in the past year. I would like to take this opportunity to make remarks on some of the activities by the IAEA.
At the outset, I would like to reiterate Japan’s full, unequivocal support for the important work of the Agency in the areas of nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear energy. In May, Foreign Minister Kishida participated in the first preparatory committee of the 2020 NPT Review Conference. In his statement, Foreign Minister Kishida emphasized the importance of the NPT in realizing a world free of nuclear weapons, and Japan’s commitment to achieving a successful 2020 Review Conference. In this connection, I wish to stress the important role of the IAEA in maintaining and strengthening the NPT regime, and we are fully committed to cooperating with the Agency.
Mr. Chair,
In the area of nuclear safety, Japan is continuously working with the IAEA in order to strengthen international cooperation, drawing on the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi Accident.
Over 6 years has passed since the accident. Japan has been providing updated information on the progress in the recovery operation at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and in Fukushima Prefecture in a comprehensive and timely manner to the IAEA Secretariat. The information has been uploaded on the IAEA website with Secretariat’s comments. The latest information has just been updated on 7th of June. We will continue to make utmost effort for recovery from the accident.
Effective public communication to ensure transparency in nuclear safety continues to be highly priority for Japan. Japan will continue to work with the Agency in sharing with the Member States information on the Fukushima Daiichi accident as well as any other cases related to nuclear safety in an appropriate manner.
We believe it is important that knowledge and expertise on Emergency Preparedness and Response are shared with the international community. Since its establishment, the IAEA RANET-CBC in Fukushima has played a significant role in this respect by hosting a variety of workshops on the EPR, and so does in 2017.
Also, I wish to draw the attention of the Board that activities at the RANET-CBC now go beyond the area of nuclear emergency. For example, this year, it plans to conduct a capacity building project related to the use of non-destructive testing techniques to measure vulnerability in the buildings affected by earthquakes, floods or other natural disasters.
We appreciate the contribution that the IAEA RANET-CBC in Fukushima has been making.
Japan has implemented ‘Marine Monitoring Project’ in cooperation with the IAEA since 2014. We believe that this cooperation has reinforced the credibility of the information from Japan on the treatment of the contaminated water of Fukushima Daiichi Accident.
I wish to express Japan’s deep appreciation for Agency’s support in this area. Further, we believe that the development of analysis and assessment method through such projects could make contributions on a broader scale to improving the environmental assessment using nuclear related technology.
In this regard, Japan decided to support the procurement for the IAEA Environmental Laboratory in Monaco of new equipment for measuring concentration of radioactive nuclides. It is expected that the Laboratory and other institutions of the Member States will be able to use these equipment to make further progress on the analysis of the effect of radioactive nuclides to the ecosystem and build relevant databases.
Mr. Chair,
Last, but not least, Japan recognizes that nuclear security is one important area where the IAEA is expected to play a central role of facilitating international cooperation. Japan has continued to provide funding for the Nuclear Security Fund in order to support Agency’s activities in capacity building to strengthen nuclear security worldwide. We will work closely with the Secretariat with a view to timely implementation of projects to be supported by our latest contribution.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.