Remarks by Ambassador Mr. Toshiro OZAWA at the Critical Issues Forum

Students, Teachers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, I extend my warm welcome to the participants to the Critical Issues Forum. Your experience at this Forum will certainly deepen your understanding of the tragic consequences of the use of nuclear weapons, and I hope that you learn more about nuclear safety and security by sharing your research findings an these issues.

Japan, the only country to have suffered from the use of nuclear weapons, will continue to raise awareness worldwide about the tragic consequences of the use of nuclear weapons. We regard this as a universal issue for all mankind. Japan is very committed to promoting disarmament and non-proliferation education because we believe that we must pass on to future generations our knowledge and experiences about the catastrophic consequence of nuclear weapons. As part of such efforts, you will have tomorrow the testimony of Mr. Masahito Hirose, “Special Communicator for a world without nuclear weapons” who briefly spoke to you just now.

Japan has also decided to host jointly with the United Nations University a forum called “the Global Forum on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Education” in the City of Nagasaki on 10 and 11 August this year. We would welcome your participation to this forum.

You will recall that a little over a year has passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. I would like to thank all countries, including the US, Austria, Russia, China and Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the heartwarming encouragement and generous support that was rendered to us. The Japanese people are drawing courage from such international support, and the affected areas are now making steady progress towards reconstruction and recreation.

With regard to the unfortunate nuclear accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station, the nuclear reactors reached a state of cold shutdown by the end of last year. Decontamination efforts are being conducted in full gear, but challenges remain to rehabilitate the environment. Japan will continue to share with the international community our experiences and lessons learned from the accident, and thus contribute to enhancing international nuclear safety. As part of these endeavors, Japan will host “The Fukushima Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety” in co-sponsorship with the IAEA from 15th to 17th December 2012 in Fukushima.

In recent years, we have been facing and continue to face the increased threat of terrorism. Nuclear security, like non-proliferation and disarmament, cannot be achieved through the efforts of one country alone. This is why international co-operation involving close coordination among all relevant countries is essential. In this regard, Japan welcomes the fact that various measures towards strengthening the security of nuclear materials and facilities were agreed to at the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit held in March of this year.

The accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was caused by an unprecedented natural disaster in the form of an enormous Tsunami, while overall arguments regarding nuclear security tend to focus on “human action caused accidents”, such as in the form of a terrorist attack upon a nuclear facility. We would argue that further examination of the complementary nature of measures for nuclear security and safety is required, but there seem to be legitimate common lessons that can be extracted, regardless of what the original cause of a nuclear accident may be. Three such lessons were presented by Japanese Prime Minister Noda at the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit: first, the importance of preparing for unanticipated risk; second, not to treat lightly the details on the ground; and third, “safety requires incessant effort”. Japan will continue to contribute to the strengthening of nuclear security in cooperation with the IAEA.

I hope this Forum will enrich your understanding of disarmament and non-proliferation issues, especially issues relating to Nuclear Safety and Security. Your represent the next generation and the next leaders, and thus, it is of great importance that you appreciate the meaning and importance of these issues. Please use this opportunity to learn from the experience of the Special Communicator for a world without nuclear weapons, to exchange views with other participants, and to widen your knowledge and last but not least, to enjoy your stay in Vienna.

Thank you very much.