A high-level international gathering on nuclear safety began Saturday in Fukushima Prefecture, with participants reiterating their determination to make atomic energy safe and touching on the need to assist countries newly seeking to build nuclear power plants.
At the outset of the Fukushima Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety, hosted by Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency, Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba said the government is eager to share the lessons of the Fukushima No. 1 crisis. He also sought cooperation from countries around the world for the decades-long process of scrapping the three reactors that suffered core meltdowns.
"No country in the world has ever experienced such an operation. . . . It is necessary to bring together and utilize domestic and overseas knowhow," Genba said, adding Japan intends to accept an IAEA expert mission next year to tap its knowledge about the decommissioning work.