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184720
Thu, 05/26/2011 - 21:12
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https://oananews.org//node/184720
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G-8 summit begins in France with Kan's pledge on nuclear safety
DEAUVILLE, France, May 26 Kyodo -
This year's two-day summit of the Group of Eight nations began in the French seaside resort of Deauville on Thursday, with Prime Minister Naoto Kan's pledge that Japan will make further contributions to the international community on nuclear safety.
Kan spoke about the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant for about 10 minutes at the outset of the meeting as he was requested to do so by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the chair of the G-8 and the Group of 20 major industrialized and emerging economies in 2011, according to officials.
At a working lunch, which focused on Japan's situation since the triple tragedy of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, as well as the world economy, Kan said the country is making maximum efforts to bring the plant's overheating reactors under control by January next year, according to the officials.
Kan promised that Japan is prepared to disclose all information regarding the nuclear accident, the worst since the 1986 Chernobyl explosion, to the global community to prevent recurrences of such disasters, they said.
Following the Fukushima crisis, triggered by the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami, Kan also said Japan is hoping to host a high-level meeting on nuclear safety with the International Atomic Energy Agency in the second half of next year, according to Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama.
The premier again expressed his gratitude to his counterparts for all sorts of support Japan has received up to now, while Sarkozy called for solidarity between the major countries to help Japan reconstruct from the disasters, Fukuyama said.
Despite the crisis, Japan has no plans to stop using nuclear energy. Still, Kan proclaimed that Japan will step up its efforts to promote what he has called ''two new pillars'' of its energy policy -- the use of renewable energy and energy conservation -- in the coming years to be less dependent on nuclear power and fossil fuels.
As part of such efforts, Kan told them about Japan's project to install solar panels on all structurally suitable buildings and homes in Japan.
Kan said Japan will seize the opportunity provided by the current challenges to revive its economy and society, Fukuyama said. He called on other G-8 leaders to deal with Japanese imports based on scientific evidence, as the government is making sure that unsafe products will not be on the market.
The G-8 leaders debated how to craft new nuclear safety standards for the global community, following the crisis at the Fukushima plant, and the outcome is likely to serve as a prelude to a series of full-fledged discussions at the IAEA and other institutions.
Kan said Japan's upcoming domestic safety guidelines will be adapted to new IAEA standards.
In addition to nuclear safety, recent democratic movements in the Middle East and North Africa, the socio-economic impact of the Internet, and regional political issues, such as North Korea and Iran, will be high on the agenda at the G-8 summit, which will bring leaders also from Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States.
On the first day, when the G-8 leaders discussed the world economy, the officials did not rule out the possibility of them touching on the issue of who should be the new chief of the International Monetary Fund to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned after being charged with sexual assault in New York.
Strauss-Kahn was seen as a major candidate in next year's French presidential election, running against Sarkozy. On the eve of the G-8 summit, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde announced her bid to become head of the IMF.
Fukuyama said the leaders did not address the IMF issue during their lunch. Instead, they devoted a lot of time to Greece's debt problems, he said.
Many G-8 leaders said that European debt woes, recent rising commodity prices and overheating economies in emerging countries are seen as downside risks to the world economy, according to Fukuyama.
This year's two-day summit of the Group of Eight nations began in the French seaside resort of Deauville on Thursday, with Prime Minister Naoto Kan's pledge that Japan will make further contributions to the international community on nuclear safety.
Kan spoke about the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant for about 10 minutes at the outset of the meeting as he was requested to do so by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the chair of the G-8 and the Group of 20 major industrialized and emerging economies in 2011, according to officials.
At a working lunch, which focused on Japan's situation since the triple tragedy of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, as well as the world economy, Kan said the country is making maximum efforts to bring the plant's overheating reactors under control by January next year, according to the officials.
Kan promised that Japan is prepared to disclose all information regarding the nuclear accident, the worst since the 1986 Chernobyl explosion, to the global community to prevent recurrences of such disasters, they said.
Following the Fukushima crisis, triggered by the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami, Kan also said Japan is hoping to host a high-level meeting on nuclear safety with the International Atomic Energy Agency in the second half of next year, according to Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama.
The premier again expressed his gratitude to his counterparts for all sorts of support Japan has received up to now, while Sarkozy called for solidarity between the major countries to help Japan reconstruct from the disasters, Fukuyama said.
Despite the crisis, Japan has no plans to stop using nuclear energy. Still, Kan proclaimed that Japan will step up its efforts to promote what he has called ''two new pillars'' of its energy policy -- the use of renewable energy and energy conservation -- in the coming years to be less dependent on nuclear power and fossil fuels.
As part of such efforts, Kan told them about Japan's project to install solar panels on all structurally suitable buildings and homes in Japan.
Kan said Japan will seize the opportunity provided by the current challenges to revive its economy and society, Fukuyama said. He called on other G-8 leaders to deal with Japanese imports based on scientific evidence, as the government is making sure that unsafe products will not be on the market.
The G-8 leaders debated how to craft new nuclear safety standards for the global community, following the crisis at the Fukushima plant, and the outcome is likely to serve as a prelude to a series of full-fledged discussions at the IAEA and other institutions.
Kan said Japan's upcoming domestic safety guidelines will be adapted to new IAEA standards.
In addition to nuclear safety, recent democratic movements in the Middle East and North Africa, the socio-economic impact of the Internet, and regional political issues, such as North Korea and Iran, will be high on the agenda at the G-8 summit, which will bring leaders also from Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States.
On the first day, when the G-8 leaders discussed the world economy, the officials did not rule out the possibility of them touching on the issue of who should be the new chief of the International Monetary Fund to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned after being charged with sexual assault in New York.
Strauss-Kahn was seen as a major candidate in next year's French presidential election, running against Sarkozy. On the eve of the G-8 summit, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde announced her bid to become head of the IMF.
Fukuyama said the leaders did not address the IMF issue during their lunch. Instead, they devoted a lot of time to Greece's debt problems, he said.
Many G-8 leaders said that European debt woes, recent rising commodity prices and overheating economies in emerging countries are seen as downside risks to the world economy, according to Fukuyama.
