資料

第36回国際原子力機関総会政府代表演説

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

 I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to you on your election to the presidency of this 36th session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

 I am confident that, under your leadership, this Conference will produce good results and will make an important contribution to the further development of international cooperation in the peacefull uses of nuclear energy and in the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.

(New members)

 I should first of all like to extend a warm welcome to the Republics of Croatis, Slovenia and Uzbekistan, who have just become members of the Agency. At the same time, we sincerely hope that those countries will seriously consider the noble mandate of this Agency and will hasten to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the agreement with the Agency on comprehensive safeguards, in order to abide by the international obligations of nuclear non-proliferation and to promete peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

(The mission of the IAEA)

Mr. Chairman,

 We belive that, in light of the rapid changes that have taken place recently at international level, the role of this Agency, whose main aims are to promote peaceful uses of nuclear energy and prevent nuclear proliferation, has become even more important.

 During this past year in particular, the Agency has played a very significant role in developing and strengthening the system of safeguards which underpins nuclear non-proliferation, and in evaluating nuclear safety in the former Soviet Union and in the Central and Eastern European countries.

(Strengthening of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation System)

Mr. Chairman,

 As the Cold War structure between East and West breaks down, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the maintenance of international peace and security is now of more critical importance than ever before. Therefore, in promoting peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the task of maintaining and reinforcing the system of nuclear non-proliferation based on the NPT has become even more significant.

 In the political declaration issued by the G7 Summit in Munich, the importance of strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation System and of making greater efforts towards nuclear disarmament was emphasized. Japan has always attached importance to the NPT as being the pillar of international system of nuclear non-proliferation. At the conference to extend the NPT which is scheduled for 1995, Japan intends to do its utmost to facilitate the smooth settling of an agreement to extend the NPT for as long a period as possible.

 In this respect, it is most welcome that an agreement was reached this June at the Summit meeting-between the United States and the Russian Federation to decrease strategic nuclear weapons to a greater extent than outlined by START. This will foster favourable conditions for the coming extension conference, and we also expect other nuclear weapon states to promote further reduction of nuclear armaments.

 During the past year or so, the Republic of South Africa and the "front line states" of Africa, China and France have acceded to the NPT. In addition, the Ukraina, Byelorussia and Kazakhstan, who are expected to complete procedures to join the treaty soon, have committed themselves to acceding to the NPT as nonnuclear-weapon states. It is a move which we value highly as it will further enhance the universal character of the Non-Proliferation System. Our Government intends to continue to encourage all countries that have yet to become members of the NPT to do so, thereby further reinforcing the Non-Proliferation System.

(The need to build mutual confidence)

Mr. Chairman,

 I would now like to state our view regarding the development of nuclear weapons in Iraq and in North Korea (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) from the point of view of the necessity of building confidence among member states.

 The actual situation in Iraq concerning the nuclear development has gradually been revealed as a result of inspections carried out on the basis of Resolution 687 of the United Nations Security Council, and a broad range of activeties to develop nuclear weapons which violate the safeguards agreement were discovered. We would like to express our deep respect for the patience and perseverance shown by Agency staffs in handling this matter.

 Japan, as a member state, is determined to give its full support to the Agency so that it is able to fulfil the task entrusted to it in the Security Council Resolution. At the same time, we request the Government of Iraq to abide faithfully by the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, to reveal the entire scope of and all the facts pertaining to its nuclear weapon development and to abandon totally and renounce its capability for developing nuclear weapons.

 With regard to the situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), with whom no agreement on comprehensive safeguards had been existent, we regard as a positive step forward the fact that that agreement, based upon the NPT, between the DPRK and the Agency finally took effect after twists and turns as of April this year, and that an ad-hoc inspection was implemented after submission of the "Initial Report" and "Desigh Information". Having said that, however, I would like to add that we cannot say that our concerns about the DPRK's nuclear weapons programmes have been entirely alleviated. Japan strongly requests that the DPRK implement the comprehensive safeguards agreement, unconditionally and completely, at an early stage. We also request the implementation of the Joint Declaration on De-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, which includes a bilateral inspection regime and a declaration that reprocessing facilities shall not be possessed. We strongly urge the DPRK Government to implement these steps steadfastly so as to allay as soon as possible all doubts and concerns harbored by the international community. (Improving and strengthening the safeguards system)

Mr. Chairman,

 With the disclosure of Iraq's non-compliance with the agreement on safeguards, it has become an urgent task to improve and strengthen the IAEA safeguards system. We appreciate highly the active and prompt response of Director General Dr. Blix and the staff of the Agency Secretariat to this situation. Japan, having from the very beginning promoted the development of nuclear power exclusively for peaceful purposes, has been highly concerned about nuclear non-proliferation and has made maximum efforts in it. We have put forth a number of our own proposals regarding the improvement and strengthening of the safeguards system, and have sought to contribute actively to the discussion of these matters at the IAEA.

 Already, the need for special inspections on undeclared facilities and for early submission of design information have been reconfirmed or agreed upon with the strong support of many board members. This has resulted in the further enhancement of the effectiveness and reliability of the safeguards system in dealing with countries that seek to develop nuclear weapons clandestinely.

 The next task is to establish a universal reporting system for the export and import of nuclear materials, non-nuclear materials and certain types of equipment. Japan believes that it is important, not only for the countries of the member of the agreement on comprehensive safeguards, but for all countries to submit such reports. We therefore agree basically with the purport of the proposal made by the Agency's Secretariat.

 However, with regard to the introduction of such a repomng system, a number of problems of implementation have been raised at board meetings and, in our view, further examination of those points is required.

 Moreover, we believe that broadening of the application of safeguards to facilities for peaceful uses in nuclear weapon states is important in order to increase equity with non-nuclear-weapon states. We believe that the gradual implementation of steps for this purpose, within the scope within the limit of the human and financial resources of the Agency, is the appropriate way to proceed on this question.

(Streamlining of the safeguards system)

 As the number of facilities subject to safeguards increases, it is important to proceed vigorously and quickly to make safeguards more streamlined and efficient, as an integral part of improving and reinforcing the safeguards system. Given the critical financial state of the Agency, an urgent task for member states is to make serious efforts to substantively reduce the costs, whilst maintaining the effectiveness of safeguards. For this reason, we have been advocating further streamlining measures on the part of the Agency, taking into account the factors such as the transparency of nuclear activities of countries which have already accepted safeguards, the effectiveness of national safeguards systems and also the vigorous development and use of equipment. To this end, we made concrete proposals at this year's June Board Meeting and we continue to make active contributions in this direction.

(Cooperation on nuclear safety in the former Soviet Union and the Central and Eastern European countries)

Mr. Chairman,

 There exists now concern about the safety of Soviet-design nuclear power plants which were built according to old criteria; even the economic declaration issued by the Munich Summit pointed out the need to make a special effort for improving their safety. Earlier than this, the Agency, acting in response to a request by the countries concerned, swiftly took initiatives to begin international support and cooperation activities for safety evaluation and safety upgrading measures, and we believe these initiatives should be given due credit. At the same time, we consider it important to reach an agreement soon on the nuclear safety convention which is now being prepared by the Agency. Having maintained an excellent nuclear safety performance, we have done our utmost to extend cooperation in past years, both technical and financial, including the provision of special funds for the Agency's safety evaluation activities. At the Munich Summit, Japan announced its current plan to make available US $ 25 million for bilateral cooperation in this area. Specifically, we are planning to establish a center for operational safety technology of nuclear power plants and a system for detecting abnormal operating conditions, and so on. We continue to make maximum efforts in this area in the future.

 The task of securing nuclear safety, however, remains primarily the responsibility of the countries in which nuclear power plants are situated. Therefore, we would like to urge all countries that are directly involved to do their part by exerting their self-help efforts and to really strive to secure and improve safety.

(Control and management of nuclear materials and facilities in the former Soviet Union)

Mr. Chairman,

 The rapid progress in nuclear disarmament in recent years should be welcomed by all as a positive step towards international peace and stability. However, much nuclear material will be generated during the course of dismantling nuclear warheads in the former Soviet Union, and therefore, a major international task will be to consult on and prepare measures for international cooperation in the area of management and peaceful uses of such material. We believe that the Agency will need actively to discuss and tackle these matters. Japan would like to contribute in this area, in keeping with the countries concerned, making use of the knowledge and experience it has gained through many years of peaceful uses of nuclear energy. (Utilization of nuclear energy in Japan)

Mr. Chairman,

 As is well known, Japan has for many years, from the point of view of effective uses of uranium resources, promoted the recycling of nuclear fuel as its keynote.

 Paying sernous attention to nuclear non-proliferation and the securing of safety, Japan is steadily promoting programmes for construction of a reprocessing facility and a fast breeder reactor etc. The plutonium separated from reprocessing of our spent fuel by overseas firms, is scheduled to be shipped back around autumn of this year. With regard to the transport of this material, Japan will take various physical protection measures to ensure security of the nuclear material, and intends to take all the necessary steps to ensure the safe and reliable implementation of this transportation.

 In promoting our nuclear fuel recycling plan, we not only take maximum care to ensure the strictest control of nuclear materials such as plutonium, but we have also adopted the principle of not possessing more plutonium than is necessary and promoting the recycling plan whilst taking into consideration the balance of supply and demand of plutonium. Our policy is to make maximum efforts to achieve transparency of nuclear energy activities and to ensure the rationality and reasonableness of the plans involved.

 A concrete plan for the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes, which is indispensable in establishing recycling of nuclear fuel, was drawn up last month. An organization to implement this disposal work will be established around the year 2000, after which designated disposal sites will be selected. So, we are moving quickly to set up a structure to make the necessary preparations.

 With regard to research and development on nuclear fusion, which is expected to be the ultimate energy source for humankind, an agreement was signed in July of this year regarding the Engineering Design Activities of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Programme, ITER Programme, which is being promoted by Japan, the United States, the EC and Russia. We are pleased with this development and, as one of the host countries of the joint design term, Japan wishes to take part in a positive and active manner fulfilling our international responsibility with regard to the Engineering Design Activities of ITER Programme.

(Conclusion)

Mr. Chairman,

 As I stated earlier, the Agency has an extremely important mission to secure nuclear non-proliferation and promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

 Japan fully intends to make the greatest possible contributions not only towards the urgent tasks facing us, but also towards its ongoing projects of highest priority such as the promotion of research and development, and technical cooperation. As part of this we will continue to actively promote the activities of the RCA which is highly regarded as a model and forerunner of regional technical cooperation in the Asia and Pacific region. We will also provide our best cooperation for other similar types of regional cooperation agreements.

 I would like to conclude my statement with the pledge that Japan, being fully mindful of nuclear non-proliferation, as a country that is promoting nuclear energy strictly for peaceful purposes, will make yet more active contributions towards the Agency's cooperation activities, upholding the Agency's noble objectives.

 Thank you very much for your attention.