Press Releases
The Second Meeting of the Japan-Ukraine Joint Committee for the cooperation to advance aftermath response to accidents at nuclear power stations
- On July 17, the second meeting of the Japan-Ukraine Joint Committee for the cooperation to advance aftermath response to accidents at nuclear power stations was held in Kiev. From the Japanese side, 17 officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headed by Mr. Takeshi Hikihara, Deputy Director-General of the European Affairs Bureau; the Reconstruction Agency; the Cabinet Office; the Ministry of the Environment (MOE); the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF); the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW); the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT); as well as Tokyo Electric Power Company, Incorporated; the University of Tokyo; and Nagasaki University attended the meeting. From the Ukrainian side, 23 officials from the Ministry of Emergencies of Ukraine including Mr. Volodymyr Kholosha, Head of Agency of Ukraine for the Exclusion Zone Management, who served as the chairperson, officials from the Agency, and officials from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine attended the meeting.
At the meeting, discussions mainly revolved around the following agenda items and opinions were exchanged on issues such as the current condition of the nuclear power plant after the accident and future policy.
- Reviewing of evacuation instruction area, radiation protection
- Off-site decontamination
- Monitoring
- Risk management
- Compensation for nuclear damages
- Cooperation from the academic community
Major results of the meeting are as follows:
(1) From the Ukrainian side, measures taken in the past 27 years concerning each of the agenda items and current problems were explained based on the experience from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station accident. At the same time, the Ukrainian side stated that they would also like to provide as much support as possible in the future for the measures to be taken against the accident in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and made a suggestion concerning the possibility of implementing a joint project based on the demand of the Japanese side. From the Japanese side, the current condition of reconstruction in Fukushima was explained while explanation was given to the Ukrainian side on issues following the accident in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and on medium-to long-term policies from a broad perspective. The Japanese side also requested the continued close sharing of information with the Ukrainian side. The Ukrainian side expressed their sympathy for Japan's efforts for realizing the return of residents to their homes.
(2) Moreover, both countries welcomed the Fukushima/Chernobyl Joint Satellite Observation Project which is currently in progress between the University of Tokyo and concerned organizations such as the State Space Agency of Ukraine and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
(3) Both parties confirmed that the meeting of the Joint Committee should be held periodically and time for the third meeting will be arranged through diplomatic channels.
* The foregoing is a provisional translation. The date indicated above denotes the date of issue of the original press release in Japanese.