JAPAN: IAEA head meets Japanese PM over Fukushima nuclear cleanup

Record ID: 465301

  • Title: JAPAN: IAEA head meets Japanese PM over Fukushima nuclear cleanup
  • Date: 27th July 2011
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 26, 2011) (REUTERS) JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTRY BUILDING AMANO WALKING TOWARD GROUP OF JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY DIRECTOR GENERAL YUKIYA AMANO SAYING: "There are several areas where we should review safety measures after the nuclear accident in Fukushima, especially those dealing with natural disasters and blackouts." AMANO MEETING JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER TAKEAKI MATSUMOTO AMANO AND MATSUMOTO SHAKING HANDS AMANO AND MATSUMOTO SEATED TO TALK MATSUMOTO TALKING AMANO TALKING MORE OF THE MEETING
  • Embargoed: 11th August 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: International Relations,Disasters
  • Reuters ID: LVAB2MXVMYHF2CBO6FF6US0UTKHH
  • Story Text: The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Yukiya Amano met Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Tuesday (July 26) to discuss the cleanup process at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and also tightening safety measures for the global nuclear industry.
    During the meeting with Japan's premier, Amano praised Japan for cooperating and being transparent during his agency's investigation of the worst nuclear accident after Chernobyl.
    Amano, who also met with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto, said the Fukushima nuclear accident increased the need to review on nuclear safety measures globally especially specifically vis-a-vis natural disasters.
    "There are several areas where we should review safety measures after the nuclear accident in Fukushima, especially those dealing with natural disasters and blackouts," Amano told reporters in Tokyo.
    In his meeting with Japan's foreign minister, Amano was reassured Japan was on track with efforts to bring the Fukushima nuclear plant under control, more than four months after it was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami that triggered meltdowns and radiation leaks.
    However the government has also cautioned that a final clean-up of the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl would take many years.
    The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co, the operator of the Fukushima plant, have so far met the July target of stably reducing radiation but officials have said it could take more than 10 years to decommission the reactors, whose troubles have heightened public safety concerns over nuclear power.
    More than two-thirds of Japanese support Prime Minister Naoto Kan's call for the country to wean itself from nuclear power, a Kyodo news agency poll showed on Sunday (July 24).
    Amano, on his week-long trip to Japan, will attend the 23rd UN Disarmament Conference in Matsumoto, Nagano, on Wednesday (July 27).
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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