Nuke safety: Japan "sharing its experience and lessons" from 3/11?

30 Octobre 2013

October 30, 2013

Abe pledges nuclear safety as Japan wins bid to build Turkish plant

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20131030p2g00m0bu045000c.html

ISTANBUL (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Tuesday to boost Japan's efforts to ensure the safety of nuclear power as one of its firms jointly won an order to build a Turkish atomic power plant, the first such order for a Japanese company since the Fukushima disaster.

Earlier in the day, Abe and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed promoting bilateral economic cooperation. Tokyo aims to increase Japanese exports of large infrastructure to Turkey and other emerging economies in areas such as energy and transportation.

"Japan is responsible for helping improve the safety of atomic power in the world by sharing its experience and lessons from the accident," Abe said at a joint press conference following the summit in Istanbul, referring to the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.

Erdogan said Turkey needs nuclear power, showing his intent to call for more foreign investment in relevant projects.

During Abe's visit, a joint venture established by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Areva SA of France reached agreement with the Turkish government on a project valued at about 2 trillion yen ($20.37 billion) to construct a nuclear power plant with four advanced reactors in the Black Sea province of Sinop.

The venture, Atmea, set up in 2007 and based in Paris, had obtained preferential negotiating rights with Ankara. It plans to start the operation of the new plant in 2023, company officials said.

The Mitsubishi-Areva alliance is also vying with Russia's Atomstroyexport for a similar contract in Jordan.

Abe, when last visiting Turkey in May, agreed with Erdogan to provide the country with Japan's civil nuclear technology -- an accord necessary for Japanese manufacturers to be involved in such overseas projects.

Although the nuclear plant project in Turkey is a boost for Japan's economic growth strategy, Abe is still struggling to dispel widespread concerns about nuclear safety in Japan.

The Fukushima crisis has increasingly led people to rally for eliminating atomic power, including former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, whom Abe had served as one of the closest aides.

All 50 commercial reactors in Japan are now offline and required to clear a set of safety requirements introduced in July to resume operation. The new safety standard could force utilities to shut down some reactors permanently.

On Tuesday, Abe said he and Erdogan "discussed measures to promote economic cooperation such as large infrastructure development."

They had been expected to agree to launch preliminary talks for a bilateral free trade accord during their meeting. But they did not have enough time to discuss the issue, according to Japanese officials.

They signaled the importance of strengthening security ties and increasing leader-level bilateral dialogue, with the latest summit also focusing on the civil war in Syria and the nuclear development program in Iran, both neighbors of Turkey.

Abe invited Erdogan to visit Japan and the Turkish premier expressed his intention to make a trip as early as January, the officials said.

Tokyo won its bid to host the 2020 Olympics by beating Istanbul and Madrid. Abe asked Turkey for cooperation to make the sports event a success.