Statement by Minister SHIMIZU Chitaru at the IAEA Board of Governors Meeting starting on Monday, 7 September 2026 Item 6(c): Implementation of the NPT safeguards agreement in the Syrian Arab Republic
2026/9/9
Thank you, Chair,
Japan highly commends the Director General and his team for their sustained efforts and tenacious engagement in addressing this long-standing issue. Japan also sincerely appreciates the Syrian government for its valuable cooperation and constructive engagement with the Agency.
Outstanding safeguards issues and other important questions related to the past nuclear activities led by Assad regime need to be resolved and clarified. Japan welcomes the advancement of the excavation activities, the submission of the relevant Design Information Questionnaires, and the steps taken to place the discovered nuclear material under the Agency’s safeguards, all of which represent meaningful progress. We applaud the Syrian government for its responsible implementation of its safeguards agreement.
Japan takes careful note of the ongoing verification activities, including the analysis of samples recently taken at multiple locations, as reported. Japan attaches great importance to the results of the analysis. Japan also continues to pay close attention to North Korea’s alleged nuclear cooperation with the Assad regime, as repeatedly mentioned in the Director General’s past reports.
We recall that this matter extends beyond a regional security concern in the Middle East and represents a serious problem in the global non-proliferation regime with transregional implications.
Chair,
Japan is proud to support Syria, including through our extrabudgetary contributions to the Agency’s Technical Cooperation Programme. Japan takes note of Syria’s strong desire to further develop the peaceful use of nuclear technology for its recovery and reconstruction. Japan is committed to accompanying the Syrian government and people as they work to regain their full and rightful standing in the international community.
In this spirit, and in recognition of the mutual benefits it would bring, Japan wishes to strongly encourage the Syrian government to give serious and favorable consideration to concluding an Additional Protocol to its safeguards agreement at the earliest opportunity.
Such a step would significantly enhance Syria’s transparency, provide greater confidence to the international community, and open the door, even wider, to the fullest possible cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, which is an outcome that would be in Syria’s own long-term interest.
With all this in mind, Japan requests the Director General to keep Member States informed of any significant updates.
Thank you, Chair.
Japan highly commends the Director General and his team for their sustained efforts and tenacious engagement in addressing this long-standing issue. Japan also sincerely appreciates the Syrian government for its valuable cooperation and constructive engagement with the Agency.
Outstanding safeguards issues and other important questions related to the past nuclear activities led by Assad regime need to be resolved and clarified. Japan welcomes the advancement of the excavation activities, the submission of the relevant Design Information Questionnaires, and the steps taken to place the discovered nuclear material under the Agency’s safeguards, all of which represent meaningful progress. We applaud the Syrian government for its responsible implementation of its safeguards agreement.
Japan takes careful note of the ongoing verification activities, including the analysis of samples recently taken at multiple locations, as reported. Japan attaches great importance to the results of the analysis. Japan also continues to pay close attention to North Korea’s alleged nuclear cooperation with the Assad regime, as repeatedly mentioned in the Director General’s past reports.
We recall that this matter extends beyond a regional security concern in the Middle East and represents a serious problem in the global non-proliferation regime with transregional implications.
Chair,
Japan is proud to support Syria, including through our extrabudgetary contributions to the Agency’s Technical Cooperation Programme. Japan takes note of Syria’s strong desire to further develop the peaceful use of nuclear technology for its recovery and reconstruction. Japan is committed to accompanying the Syrian government and people as they work to regain their full and rightful standing in the international community.
In this spirit, and in recognition of the mutual benefits it would bring, Japan wishes to strongly encourage the Syrian government to give serious and favorable consideration to concluding an Additional Protocol to its safeguards agreement at the earliest opportunity.
Such a step would significantly enhance Syria’s transparency, provide greater confidence to the international community, and open the door, even wider, to the fullest possible cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, which is an outcome that would be in Syria’s own long-term interest.
With all this in mind, Japan requests the Director General to keep Member States informed of any significant updates.
Thank you, Chair.