Japan, ASEAN agree to boost cooperation over nuke power safety

JAKARTA, April 9 Kyodo -
Foreign ministers of Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations called Saturday for closer coordination in boosting the safety of nuclear power plants in the wake of a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and massive tsunami last month that triggered the nuclear crisis in Japan.
The two sides ''support Japan's resolve to take a leadership role in the international undertaking to improve the safety of nuclear power plants, and its willingness to share experiences learned from the accident with ASEAN member states,'' the ministers said in a chairman's statement issued after a half-day meeting in Jakarta.
It was the first time that ASEAN has convened a foreign ministerial meeting in response to a disaster that occurred outside the territory of the 10-member grouping, Japanese officials said.
ASEAN acknowledged with appreciation Japan's assurance that it will provide information to the international community ''with maximum transparency'' on the response to the accident involving the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, including radioactivity leakages, the statement said.
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto said Japan is doing its utmost to put radioactivity leaks from the Fukushima plant under control in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and that the amount of radiation in the air has gradually been reduced, the officials said.
Matsumoto said Japan is employing strict food safety measures, and asked that ASEAN take a ''reasonable response calmly based on scientific evidence,'' they said.
Radioactive leaks from the nuclear plant have sparked global concerns about the safety of nuclear power and have forced a review of atomic power plants. Some countries have banned or restricted food imports from Japan over radiation fears.
The Japanese officials said ASEAN foreign ministers and senior officials apparently accepted Matsumoto's briefing, and no delegates criticized Japan for making insufficient explanations about nuclear power issues including developments at the Fukushima plant.
The accident came as ASEAN member states such as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are considering building nuclear power plants to meet the rising demand for electricity amid high economic growth.
Indonesia, which was hit by the 2004 Sumatra quake and tsunami, proposed Saturday's ''special meeting'' for Japan as ASEAN appreciates Tokyo's ''unwavering support'' for member states in times of need.
According to the statement, ASEAN expressed their ''sympathy, solidarity and support'' to the Japanese government and people in their recovery and reconstruction efforts from the March 11 quake and tsunami, which devastated northeastern and eastern Japan, killed nearly 13,000 people and left nearly 15,000 others missing, and sparked the nuclear crisis.
''With the increasing economic interdependence between Japan and ASEAN, the recovery and early reconstruction of Japan as well as the economic growth in ASEAN are mutually important,'' it said.
At the same time, ASEAN expressed the group's ''strong expectation'' that Japan will continue to contribute to the development and stability of the region.
Matsumoto told ASEAN that Japan will continue to support the group in achieving its goal of an economic community by 2015 through greater region-wide ''connectivity'' in areas such as transport and information communications technology infrastructure to trade and investment liberalization.
Japan and ASEAN called for strengthening a mechanism to facilitate the flow of assistance during natural disasters in their regions.
The ministers underlined the need to ensure ''prompt and smooth communication in times of disaster,'' as well as to enhance ''coordination mechanisms to facilitate the flows of support in a timely manner,'' the statement said.
Following the March 11 disaster, lack of coordination has been cited as one of the biggest challenges in Japan's emergency relief operations. Many municipalities in the affected areas were reportedly unable to receive a large number of relief missions and volunteers because of limited coordination capacity.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.