2026年NPT運用検討会議第2回準備委員会（クラスター3 原子力の平和的利用）ステートメント（海部篤大使）（英語）
令和6年7月30日
Thank you, Chair.
The peaceful uses of nuclear energy, enshrined in the NPT as an inalienable right of all Parties to the Treaty in conformity with Article I and II of the Treaty, have contributed to the peace and prosperity of the world, and their significance has been repeatedly confirmed at NPT Review Conferences. More should be done to promote the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology, recognizing that such uses can make a tangible contribution to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Japan stresses the importance of the following elements.
First, Japan highly appreciates the central role of the IAEA and its long-standing contribution to the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology in addressing global challenge of climate change. Japan commends the IAEA’s active participation in COP 27 and COP 28. We also welcome the first Nuclear Energy Summit held in March this year.
Second, the benefits of peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology should be further spread to the largest possible number of people in diverse fields of application. Japan continues its positive contributions in this field, as one of the major contributors to the IAEA Technical Cooperation Programme. Japan supports various initiatives of the IAEA, including ZODIAC, NUTEC Plastics, Rays of Hope, and the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme through the IAEA Peaceful Uses Initiative (PUI). Japan’s contributions through the PUI total over 68 million Euros, including the recent contribution of 6.6 million Euros to the newly launched initiative, Atoms4Food.
Third, transparency in the management of civil plutonium must be maintained. We underscore the importance of the implementation of the Guidelines for the Management of Plutonium, as contained in INFCIRC 549.
Forth, the promotion of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy must be accompanied by commitments to the highest standards of safety, security, as well as effective safeguards. Bearing in mind the lessons learned from the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Japan has been contributing to the international capacity-building efforts worldwide on nuclear safety and emergency preparedness and response to nuclear accidents at the IAEA RANET capacity-building center in Fukushima. Japan has also been contributing to the human resource development on nuclear security and safeguards at the Integrated Support Center for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Nuclear Security (ISCN) of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA).
Chair,
In the previous statement, there were some references to the discharge of ALPS-treated water into the sea. The term contaminated water is not appropriate; it is the ALPS-treated water that Japan is discharging.
And I listen carefully, with positive note, to supports and confidence expressed explicitly and shared widely by the international community, to the ongoing effort in this regard of the IAEA, the very authority of nuclear safety.
The IAEA’s impartial and ongoing engagement through existing long-term review and multi-layered robust monitoring with corroborative participation of analytical laboratories worldwide, including neighboring states, has consistently found no anomalies. In other words, the conclusion of the comprehensive report of the IAEA, issued July 2023 after the radiological environmental impact assessment, that the discharge was consistent with the Agency safety standards and would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment, has proven itself to be right.
We all know the IAEA remains committed to continuing its review and independent monitoring until the last drop of the water is released safely. We all know the IAEA continues to exercise its statutory mandate to establish, adopt, and provide for the application of international safety standards in the field of nuclear energy. The tireless and impartial efforts of the IAEA Secretariat are ample expression of the authority and independence of the Agency. What matters here is to preserve the authority, the independence, and the legitimacy of the Agency.
Japan will continue the discharge in a transparent manner based on scientific evidence, engaging with various stakeholders in Asia Pacific region and beyond.
Chair,
In concluding, the nuclear safety and security situation in Ukraine has been a matter of deep concern. The aggression of the Russian Federation and its related actions are the original source of the problems and risks that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has been facing. Japan urges Russia to heed the IAEA resolutions and withdraw immediately and unconditionally from the entire internationally recognized territory of Ukraine, including Ukraine’s ZNPP. The ZNPP should be immediately returned to the full control of the Ukrainian authorities. Japan reaffirms the importance of the IAEA Director General’s “seven indispensable pillars” and “five concrete principles”, as well as the role of the IAEA in monitoring the situation and conducting an independent and impartial assessment. Japan firmly supports and contributes to efforts of the IAEA for the safe and secure operation of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities and to help reduce the risk of a nuclear accident. Japan also continues to lead the international discussion as a co-chair of the working group of Ukraine’s Peace Formula on nuclear safety and security.
Thank you, Chair.
The peaceful uses of nuclear energy, enshrined in the NPT as an inalienable right of all Parties to the Treaty in conformity with Article I and II of the Treaty, have contributed to the peace and prosperity of the world, and their significance has been repeatedly confirmed at NPT Review Conferences. More should be done to promote the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology, recognizing that such uses can make a tangible contribution to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Japan stresses the importance of the following elements.
First, Japan highly appreciates the central role of the IAEA and its long-standing contribution to the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology in addressing global challenge of climate change. Japan commends the IAEA’s active participation in COP 27 and COP 28. We also welcome the first Nuclear Energy Summit held in March this year.
Second, the benefits of peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology should be further spread to the largest possible number of people in diverse fields of application. Japan continues its positive contributions in this field, as one of the major contributors to the IAEA Technical Cooperation Programme. Japan supports various initiatives of the IAEA, including ZODIAC, NUTEC Plastics, Rays of Hope, and the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme through the IAEA Peaceful Uses Initiative (PUI). Japan’s contributions through the PUI total over 68 million Euros, including the recent contribution of 6.6 million Euros to the newly launched initiative, Atoms4Food.
Third, transparency in the management of civil plutonium must be maintained. We underscore the importance of the implementation of the Guidelines for the Management of Plutonium, as contained in INFCIRC 549.
Forth, the promotion of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy must be accompanied by commitments to the highest standards of safety, security, as well as effective safeguards. Bearing in mind the lessons learned from the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Japan has been contributing to the international capacity-building efforts worldwide on nuclear safety and emergency preparedness and response to nuclear accidents at the IAEA RANET capacity-building center in Fukushima. Japan has also been contributing to the human resource development on nuclear security and safeguards at the Integrated Support Center for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Nuclear Security (ISCN) of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA).
Chair,
In the previous statement, there were some references to the discharge of ALPS-treated water into the sea. The term contaminated water is not appropriate; it is the ALPS-treated water that Japan is discharging.
And I listen carefully, with positive note, to supports and confidence expressed explicitly and shared widely by the international community, to the ongoing effort in this regard of the IAEA, the very authority of nuclear safety.
The IAEA’s impartial and ongoing engagement through existing long-term review and multi-layered robust monitoring with corroborative participation of analytical laboratories worldwide, including neighboring states, has consistently found no anomalies. In other words, the conclusion of the comprehensive report of the IAEA, issued July 2023 after the radiological environmental impact assessment, that the discharge was consistent with the Agency safety standards and would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment, has proven itself to be right.
We all know the IAEA remains committed to continuing its review and independent monitoring until the last drop of the water is released safely. We all know the IAEA continues to exercise its statutory mandate to establish, adopt, and provide for the application of international safety standards in the field of nuclear energy. The tireless and impartial efforts of the IAEA Secretariat are ample expression of the authority and independence of the Agency. What matters here is to preserve the authority, the independence, and the legitimacy of the Agency.
Japan will continue the discharge in a transparent manner based on scientific evidence, engaging with various stakeholders in Asia Pacific region and beyond.
Chair,
In concluding, the nuclear safety and security situation in Ukraine has been a matter of deep concern. The aggression of the Russian Federation and its related actions are the original source of the problems and risks that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has been facing. Japan urges Russia to heed the IAEA resolutions and withdraw immediately and unconditionally from the entire internationally recognized territory of Ukraine, including Ukraine’s ZNPP. The ZNPP should be immediately returned to the full control of the Ukrainian authorities. Japan reaffirms the importance of the IAEA Director General’s “seven indispensable pillars” and “five concrete principles”, as well as the role of the IAEA in monitoring the situation and conducting an independent and impartial assessment. Japan firmly supports and contributes to efforts of the IAEA for the safe and secure operation of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities and to help reduce the risk of a nuclear accident. Japan also continues to lead the international discussion as a co-chair of the working group of Ukraine’s Peace Formula on nuclear safety and security.
Thank you, Chair.