Statement by Mr. Yasuyoshi KOMIZO,
Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Japan
to the International Organizations in Vienna,
Representative of Japan to the NPT Review Conference in 2010,
At the Plenary Meeting of Main Committee III

Mr. Chairman,

Let me begin by congratulating you, on behalf of the Government of Japan, on your assumption of the Chairmanship of Main Committee III. Please be assured of our full confidence in your able guidance and of our full cooperation with you in bringing about fruitful outcome of this Committee.

(Nuclear Power Generation and "3S")

Mr. Chairman, As pointed out by Mr. Amano, Director-General of the IAEA, at the opening of the Conference, at present more than 60 countries are considering introducing nuclear power generation in order to address energy security and climate change. How to assist these countries in promoting their programmes is one of the important challenges in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy. In this context, Japan welcomes the March 2010 Paris Conference on access to civil nuclear energy and has become a co-sponsor of the working paper on nuclear energy initiated by the Government of France.

Japan, as a country with few natural resources, initiated its nuclear power programmes early on. In order to obtain trust of the international community and to achieve highest level of transparency, Japan has accepted IAEA safeguards based on a comprehensive safeguards agreement and an additional protocol, and has endeavored to ensure nuclear safety and security associated with its nuclear power plants, including by enacting relevant national laws and regulations and ratifying related international agreements. As a result of these efforts, currently, 54 nuclear reactors for power generation are in operation across Japan in good cooperation with its international partners and produce approximately 30% of total electricity generation in Japan.

Japan also promote international cooperation, collaborating with the IAEA and other relevant organisations, to develop infrastructure for introducing and developing nuclear power programmes, and believes that Japan's experience and expertise in this field could be useful for countries intending to introduce nuclear power generation.

We continue to make further efforts to ensure nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear safety and nuclear security, so-called "3S", associated with its nuclear activities, to maintain high level of trust and transparency. Japan wishes to assist these countries in establishing 3S related infrastructure in close cooperation with the IAEA, thereby contributing to the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

(Nuclear Safety and Nuclear Security)

Mr. Chairman,
Let me touch upon a few concrete points related to nuclear safety and security.

Recent large-scale earthquakes that occur around the globe remind us of the importance of ensuring seismic safety of nuclear power generation facilities. Japan is a country that has experienced huge earthquakes, and has knowledge and experience in this filed. Given that a number of countries interested in nuclear power are also prone to earthquake, Japan will contribute to strengthening seismic safety related to peaceful uses of nuclear energy in close cooperation with the IAEA.

Safe transport of radioactive material is another essential aspect of peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Historically, the safety record of civilian transport of radioactive materials has been excellent. Based on the right of freedom of maritime navigation as provided for in international law, Japan has conducted the transport of nuclear materials in strict conformity with international standards established by the relevant international organizations. Japan has also regarded maintaining dialogue with coastal States as extremely important in promoting mutual understanding. We will continue to engage in confidence-building dialogue with coastal States.

With regard to nuclear security, Japan welcomes the successful outcome of the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington last month. We fully endorse the Communiqué and the Work Plan adopted at the Summit meeting, and encourage all States to consider taking measures provided for in these documents.

(Assurance of Nuclear Fuel Supply)

Mr. Chairman,
Amid the current "nuclear renaissance," interest in the assurance of nuclear fuel supply has been increasing greatly. At the same time, wide ranging views are expressed from various aspects including on the nature and modalities of such arrangements. Japan has participated and will participate actively in the exchange of views on this matter. We hope that consensus will emerge through further discussions in the framework of the IAEA.

(Technical Cooperation)

Mr. Chairman,
The peaceful uses of nuclear energy include not only electric power generation but also application of nuclear technology in such fields as human health, agriculture, industry and so on. Promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy in these fields through technical cooperation is an important responsibility of the NPT States Parties. Japan reaffirms that under the NPT, all State Parties enjoy the inalienable right to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination and in conformity with its Articles I, II and III, as clearly stipulated in the Final Document of the 2000 NPT Review Conference. We have submitted a working paper on technical cooperation to this Conference, as we did at the 2008 Preparatory Committee, with a hope that technical cooperation activities will be developed further to achieve the goal of the NPT.

As the working paper clearly mentions, Japan emphasizes the significance of the technical cooperation activities of the IAEA, and stresses the importance of nuclear knowledge sharing and the transfer of nuclear technology to developing countries for the purpose of sustaining and further enhancing their scientific and technological capabilities, thereby also contributing to their socio-economic development. In this context, we highly value the initiative taken by the IAEA Director General in the field of cancer therapy. Attaching great importance to the technical cooperation programmes, Japan has consistently paid its share of the IAEA Technical Cooperation Fund (TCF) in full and achieved a 100% "Rate of Attainment" since the foundation of the TCF in1959. Japan believes that the IAEA Member States should make every effort to contribute their respective full shares of the TCF target, based on the concept of shared responsibility.

(Withdrawal)

Mr. Chairman,
While fully acknowledging the sovereign right of State Parties to withdraw from the NPT under Article X, collective efforts are warranted to make sure that violators do not take undue advantage of such provisions. This issue should be considered without revising its Article X. We would like to address this issue further in the deliberations of the subsidiary body's sessions.

(Concluding Remarks)

Mr. Chairman,
Japan has benefited from a wide range of peaceful uses of nuclear energy by strictly adhering to the IAEA safeguards as well as by meeting the international safety and security norms and standards. I would like to reiterate that the peaceful uses of nuclear energy must be carried out with the confidence of the international community, with the fulfillment of the NPT obligations in a manner that ensures the highest levels of transparency and international confidence. Japan fully recognizes the important role of the IAEA in the area of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and will continue to support the activities of the IAEA.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.