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Japan's Minister of State for Science and Technology Hirofumi Nakasone and U.S. Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson today issued the following joint statement announcing future cooperative activities between the two countries in the areas of nonproliferation, nuclear energy research and development, nuclear safety and emergency preparedness, fusion energy science research and development, and basic scientific research.

Nuclear Nonproliferation
Minister Nakasone and Secretary Richardson noted their strong interest in preserving and strengthening the international nonproliferation regime. Towards that end, they will continue collaborative activities in the following areas:

• Plutonium Disposition in Russia -- The Science and Technology Agency (STA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) will expand joint activities to facilitate Russian disposition of surplus weapons-grade plutonium, including modification of Russia's BN-600 fast reactor core to burn plutonium. STA and DOE will also explore opportunities to promote ongoing research and development of the Gas Turbine-Modular Helium Reactor, which holds promise for efficiently using, while destroying, plutonium fuel.

• International Nuclear Safeguards -- STA and DOE plan to continue collaborative research and activities in the area of international nuclear safeguards, including projects that promote implementation of strengthened and integrated International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.

Nuclear Energy Research and Development
Nuclear energy cooperation between Japan and the United States spans more than three decades. The Minister and the Secretary expressed their interest in continuing joint activities related to deployed nuclear reactors and fuel cycle technologies, and exploring new joint activities for future collaboration. They specifically noted their shared interest in collaborating on new techniques for the management of spent nuclear fuel and on research opportunities, including the next generation nuclear power plant designs and fuel cycle technologies.

Minister Nakasone noted Japan's continuing commitment to establish a closed nuclear fuel cycle. Secretary Richardson reaffirmed U.S. policy to discourage civil plutonium use, while repeating U.S. assurances with respect to Japan's nuclear fuel cycle. Secretary Richardson reaffirmed U.S. policy to discourage civil plutonium use, while repeating U.S. assurances with respect to Japan's nuclear fuel cycle.

Nuclear Safety and Emergency Preparedness
The Minister and the Secretary noted the priority placed by Japan and the United States on the safe use of nuclear energy and nuclear emergency preparedness. The Secretary took note of the important legislative and institutional reforms adopted recently by Japan to improve nuclear safety and emergency preparedness in the aftermath of the nuclear criticality incident at Tokai-Mura in September 1999. STA and DOE intend to expand cooperation in this critical area. The Minister and the Secretary also discussed technical opportunities to improve the safety of Soviet-design reactors, with special emphasis on the safe decommissioning of the BN-350 reactor in Kazakhstan and the permanent shutdown of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.

Fusion Energy Science Research and Development
The Minister and the Secretary took note of the history of successful U.S.-Japanese collaboration in fusion energy science and technology research. The Secretary welcomed STA's decision to host a conference in Tokyo to commemorate and review 20 years of U.S.-Japanese fusion research collaboration. The Minister and the Secretary recognized the potential value of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project in developing the scientific basis to promote fusion as a viable energy source. The Minister said he would welcome the U.S. rejoining the ITER project.

Basic Scientific Research
Building on a generation of successful scientific collaboration, the Minister, who also holds the post of Minister of Monbusho, and the Secretary noted their intent to explore new opportunities to advance basic science research in a number of fields, working both bilaterally and internationally. Examples of such fields include high energy physics, structural genomics, spallation neutron source, and nanotechnology. The Minister and the Secretary also discussed opportunities to promote collaborative research utilizing the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory under construction in Japan.

- DOE -

R-00-123