Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
Outline of the Remarks by Prime Minister Abe at the Opening Session of the Nuclear Security Summit
April 1, 2016
In the morning of April 1 (EST), Prime Minister Abe made his remarks at the Opening Session of the Nuclear Security Summit as outlined below.
- Nuclear Security in Japan is closely linked to the severe accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for the warm support we have received from all over the world. We are determined for such a nuclear power plant accident never to repeat again. With this firm resolve, we have once again started to walk down the path to lead in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
- Based on our experience of this severe accident, Japan developed new regulatory requirements, which are the most stringent in the world. It is Japan's mission to share the lessons learned with all countries in order to expand the safety of nuclear power plants and the knowledge of counter measures in the case of an accident. Japan actively continues to engage in human resource development, assistance to other countries, and international cooperation on safety standards.
- It is necessary to ensure complete transparency in order to continue the peaceful use of nuclear energy into the future, while many nuclear power plants are being built these days. Japan continuously strives to lead the world in enhancing the transparency of civil nuclear energy in the world. I would like to call on each country to make further efforts.
- Non-proliferation efforts through enhancing nuclear safety and ensuring transparency cannot be achieved without the cooperation of all nuclear user countries. I urge everyone here to continue to deepen the discussion at the IAEA and other international frameworks and take concrete actions.
- With regard to the appropriate management of plutonium, Japan implements the policy of ''not possessing plutonium reserves for which the purpose of utilization is unspecified.'' As the result of the close cooperation between Japan and the United States, we have completed the removal of all highly-enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium fuels from the Fast Critical Assembly (FCA) of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), which was pledged at the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, accomplished on an accelerated timeline well ahead of schedule.
- As an additional commitment, I decided to convert the Kyoto University Critical Assembly (KUCA) from HEU to LEU fuel and to remove all HEU fuel. Japan releases our commitments to contributing to the enhancement of nuclear security of the world as the message to the international society in Japan-US Joint Statement.