Press Releases
Attendance of Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Komura at the First Nuclear Energy Summit (Summary)
Family Photo (IAEA)
On 21 March, the First Nuclear Energy Summit was held in Brussels, Belgium, in the presence of Masahiro Komura, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The meeting was co-hosted by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Grossi, and featured statements by heads of state and cabinet-level officials from various countries.
1 Message from Prime Minister Kishida read by Parliamentary Vice-Minister Komura
Parliamentary Vice-Minister Komura read a message (Japanese (PDF) 
/ English (PDF) ) from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
In the message, he stated that, as confirmed at the G7 Hiroshima Summit last year under Japan's chairmanship, it is time for all countries to aim the common goal of "net-zero" through various pathways, to the greatest extent possible, and nuclear energy is indispensable along with renewable energy and other measures.
He also expressed the intention to utilize nuclear power by prioritizing safety over any other circumstances and stated that he will work on restarting nuclear power plants, extending their operational periods, developing and constructing next-generation innovative reactors, and promoting research and development and the establishment of a robust supply chain, and In view of the IAEA's role in promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy, it has decided to contribute a total of 18.5 million euros to the IAEA.
He concluded by expressing his hope that the Summit would make significant progress in towards realizing the safe, sustainable and non-proliferation secure uses of nuclear energy and creating an environment and society of which we can be proud for future generations.
The Declaration was adopted as the final document of the Conference.
2 Meetings with dignitaries from governments and international organizations
During the Conference, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Komura met with the following dignitaries from governments and international organizations. A summary is given below.
(1) United Kingdom: Andrew Bowie MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (Minister for Nuclear and Renewables)
Parliamentary Vice-Minister Komura stated that he was pleased to see concrete progress in UK-Japan cooperation on nuclear energy in light of the "UK-Japan Hiroshima Agreement", and that the long-standing annual UK-Japan Nuclear Energy Dialogue has shown that the UK and Japan are good partners who can share a wide range of knowledge in the nuclear field, adding that he would like to continue to work closely with the UK.
In response, Parliamentary Under-Secretary Bowie said that the promotion of nuclear energy is very important from the point of view of both energy security and decarbonization, and that he would like to further promote cooperation between the two countries in the nuclear field, as expressed in the "UK-Japan Hiroshima Agreement". He also expressed his appreciation for Japan's support for the IAEA, which plays a very important role in this area.
Both sides agreed that energy security and net-zero emissions are important issues shared by Japan and the UK, and that it is important to pursue the common goal of net-zero emissions through different pathways.
(2) Kingdom of Sweden: Mr Daniel Westlan, State Secretary to the Minister for Climate and the Environment
Parliamentary Vice-Minister Komura stated that Sweden is an important partner with which Japan shares values and principles, and that under the "Nordic Diplomacy Initiative" Japan would like to deepen cooperation with the Nordic countries in various fields, with special emphasis on green energy as one of the areas in which Japan would like to strengthen relations.
In response, Mr. Daniel Westlén said that from his perspective as a nuclear physicist, Japan had taken appropriate measures to deal with the treated water from ALPS and he saw no problem with the safety of its discharge into the sea, and that Sweden had made a major change in its energy policy since the change of government and was now actively introducing nuclear energy as a green energy source.
The two sides agreed to continue to cooperate closely on nuclear energy research and the possible use of nuclear energy to combat climate change.
(3) IAEA: H.E. Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency
Parliamentary Vice-Minister Komura stated that the Director General's visit to Japan last week had further strengthened cooperation between Japan and the IAEA, and that he would like to follow up on the results of the Director General's visit and cooperate with the IAEA in a wide range of areas, including ALPS treated water.
In response, Mr Grossi said that the recent visit to Japan was very important and that he would like to further develop the existing cooperation between Japan and the IAEA.
(4) Other business
Parliamentary Vice-Minister Komura had brief conversation with H.E. Mr. Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium, and commended Belgium's initiative in co-hosting this conference with the IAEA.
In response, Prime Minister De Croo expressed his appreciation for Belgium's participation in the Summit.
Parliamentary Vice-Minister Komura also had brief conversation with The Honorable. John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States of America, as well as with Mr. Yafiz Osman, Minister for Science and Technology of Bangladesh, Mr. Thokozile Kisasa, Ambassador of South Africa in Brussels, Mr. Badr Abdulatti, Ambassador of Egypt in Brussels, Ms. Catherine Stewart, Ambassador for Climate Change of Canada, and Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Message of Prime Minister Kishida (Japanese (PDF) / English (PDF) )