ニュース 2010/04/22 Hatoyama reports to Diet on Nuclear Security Summit On April 22, Prime Minister and DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama reported to the plenary session of the House of Representatives on the Nuclear Security Summit, which took place in Washington from April 12 to 14. He said that discussions had taken place on the internal and external measures various countries could take in order to improve nuclear security, and with regard to the role to be played by the IAEA in nuclear security. Hatoyama said he had expressed the opinion that Japan had a moral responsibility to take the non-nuclear path, as the only country to have suffered from atomic bombings during wartime, and that Japan had taken the lead in the abolition of nuclear weapons, and explained that he had made the following four proposals at the summit: 1) to establish an Integrated Support Centre for Strengthening of Nuclear Security in Asia within Japan this year in order to strengthen nuclear security, 2) to implement research and development of technology regarding the measurement and detection of nuclear material, 3) to make continued financial and personnel contributions to the IAEA’s nuclear security programs (approximately 6.1 billion US dollars’ worth of assistance), and 4) to host an international conference of WINS (the World Institute for Nuclear Security) in Japan this year. Hatoyama went on to say that during the summit, IAEA Director General Amano had presented a report on the activities of his organization. He added that many countries had expressed their support for this, and referred to the need for the IAEA to receive further powers and resources, and that a joint communiqué and a Work Plan which stipulates the basic guidelines for action had been issued. Hatoyama said that following calls from US President Obama, the various nations had renewed their commitment to carrying out the control of nuclear material and the security of nuclear power facilities in an effective manner, as well as agreeing to cooperate to make efforts to improve nuclear security. Furthermore, Hatoyama said that in addition to participating in the summit itself, he had engaged in individual meetings with the leaders of various nations and international organizations. DPJ member of the House of Representatives Joe Nakano questioned the Prime Minister regarding his report. First, he referred to reports in the US media regarding the discussions between President Obama and Prime Minister Hatoyama, and said that the behaviour of those Diet members who simply repeated such reports was “extremely regrettable” from the perspective of the national interest. “I would like them to demonstrate sincere regret”. He said that in the Committee on Foreign Affairs, of which he is a member, discussions into the way in which foreign diplomacy should be conducted for the sake of Japan’s national interest take place in a hard-fought but constructive manner that crosses the boundaries of partisan party politics and called for the debate in the plenary session to be undertaken in the same spirit. Nakano continued by praised the summit as a “groundbreaking conference” considering that 47 nations and 3 international bodies, including India, Pakistan and Israel, the three members of the nuclear club who have not joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, participated with the single goal of developing measures to combat nuclear terrorism. He said that in the current international environment, the biggest and most pressing nuclear threat came from “nuclear terrorism”, and called on the Prime Minister to give his opinion regarding the position and role of this summit, and its historic significance, in the efforts toward preventing this threat. Hatoyama expressed the opinion that with regard to measures to combat nuclear terrorism, “the international community must cooperate and act boldly before it is too late.” He stressed the significance of the fact that a consensus had been achieved at the summit regarding communiqué and work plan, and went on, “What is important is for us to share information. I believe that it is extremely significant that this was achieved.” Nakano said that of the four proposals made at the summit, the research and development of technology to detect nuclear material was particularly important. He said that Japan, who stood at the cutting edge of nuclear-related technologies internationally, should take the lead in such research and development efforts, and asked the Prime Minister what role was played by Japan in this summit. In reply, Hatoyama once more referred to the four concrete proposals for contributions that he had made, and said, “[They] were welcomed by the leaders of the participating nations”. He added that the research and development of detection and investigation technologies was something that could not be easily accomplished by other nations, and revealed that he had stated Japan would cooperate closely with the United States in this regard.