Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged an additional $2.2 million to support renovation of the International Atomic Energy Agency's nuclear applications laboratories.
Kishida made the pledge during a meeting in Tokyo with Yukiya Amano, director-general of the Vienna-based international nuclear watchdog.
The eight laboratories deliver technical assistance to IAEA member nations in the areas of food and agriculture, human health, the environment, and the development of advanced scientific instruments.
The labs train fellows and scientific visitors, conduct research and development and provide analytical services to member state laboratories.
Amano said the Japanese contribution will enable the IAEA to start construction of two new buildings at Seibersdorf near Vienna — a new insect pest control laboratory and a flexible modular laboratory.
Japan has already provided almost $2.6 million to the modernization of the laboratories under a $34.9 million project launched in 2014.