Meti: Minister Hagiuda Holds a Video Conference with H.E. Mr. Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

On December 10, 2021, Minister Hagiuda held a video conference with H.E. Mr. Rafael Mariano Grossi, IAEA Director General. The minister expressed his gratitude for the IAEA’s great support over many years, especially in ensuring transparency with the international community regarding the handling of ALPS treated water. He also expressed a willingness to enhance the cooperation between Japan and the IAEA.

Furthermore, Minister Hagiuda said that despite the rescheduling of the first IAEA review mission on the safety of ALPS treated water in December due to the government of Japan’s new measures to address the new variant of COVID-19, he believes that we can continue to foster the exchange of scientific and technical information via online basis, and after the mission has been conducted, the IAEA will prepare an “Interim Report” in 2022, based on this review.

Moreover, as the discharge of the ALPS treated water represents a long-term operation, he requested the continual review of the implementation in Japan, and, that information be provided to the international community in a transparent manner regarding the continuously ensuring safety status of the operation.

In addition, Minister Hagiuda emphasized the importance of activities in human resource development and dissemination of information toward the continuous use of nuclear energy, which were proposed at the meeting of former Minister Kajiyama and IAEA Director General Grossi in August, 2021. Both sides agreed to continue discussions on making the cooperation between the IAEA and the government of Japan more concrete.