The IAEA Director General has been in Japan this week, supporting local efforts to enhance nuclear safety and environmental remediation, as the country prepares to restart its nuclear power plants closed since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.
As well as visiting nuclear and remediation facilities, Rafael Mariano Grossi also met with key political and business leaders to further enhance cooperation between the country and the IAEA.
During the Director General’s visit to Kashiwazaki Kariwa, Japan’s largest nuclear power plant, he viewed improvements in safety response and secure access facilities, as well as enhanced seismic and tsunami proofing.
There he met with TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa and Site Vice President Takeyuki Inagaki, a former IAEA safety officer who was working at the Fukushima Daiichi plant when it was struck by the tsunami in 2011.
“Needless to say, it was the most bitter experience in my life with many lessons learned that needed to be reflected,” said Mr Inagaki. “Now as Site Vice President of the Kashiwazaki Kariwa station, I am determined to never let such an accident happen again.”
After viewing the improvements at the station, the Director General spoke to local media, and said he was “very satisfied with the progress” he had seen.
“Nuclear safety and security are an everyday effort. One by one all the recommendations made by IAEA experts have been duly and correctly addressed here.”
During his trip, the Director General also joined an ongoing IAEA effort to monitor marine radioactivity near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. On a boat off the coast in front of the station, Mr Grossi worked with scientists from the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and Switzerland, to collect seawater samples together.
The samples will be now be analysed by the IAEA laboratories in Monaco, and national laboratories in Japan and the participating countries, each members of the IAEA's Analytical Laboratories for the Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity (ALMERA) network, chosen to ensure a high level of proficiency.
Read more about the Director General’s sampling trip and the additional measures aim to facilitate broader participation in the monitoring of the ALPS-treated water being released from the station.
“Through these efforts, third parties can independently verify that water discharge levels are, and will continue to be, in strict compliance and consistent with international safety standards,” said Director General Grossi.
Additional remediation efforts being managed by Japan in the region are focused on soil removal and recycling, another area where the IAEA is providing safety guidance.
“In this area, the presence of the IAEA is as intense and systematic as in other areas in the decommissioning effort,” said Mr Grossi.
Read more about the IAEA’s safety review of Japan’s plan for the managed recycling and the final disposal of removed soil and radioactive waste around the Fukushima Daiichi site.
During his trip the Director General also met with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and other key political leaders, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Takeshi Iwaya, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoji Muto, and the Minister of Environment Keiichiro Asao.
Mr Grossi also had an extended meeting and joint press conference with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, where they discussed their strong cooperation, and Japanese support to IAEA work, including non-proliferation worldwide, nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, cancer care through the Rays of Hope initiative, food security and more.
On his final day in the country the Director General strengthened IAEA cooperation with the Japanese private sector, by signing a practical arrangement with the Sumitomo Corporation and addressing the Japanese business federation, Keidanren. Read more about the meetings with industry here.
The Director General also signed practical arrangements on cooperation for IAEA educational and training activities with Sophia University and engaged with students and faculty members on IAEA contributions to global issues.
During his visit to Tokyo, Rafael Mariano Grossi also met with Japan Atomic Energy Agency President Masanori Koguchi and signed practical arrangements on cooperation for both nuclear power and non-power applications.