On the 25th of August the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Fumio Kishida made a technical visit to the Exclusion Zone area and the Chernobyl NPP site itself.
During a meeting at the ChNPP Model Hall the guests received from the ChNPP General Director Igor Gramotkin the general information on work status at the industrial site of the Plant, progress of international projects aimed at the Chernobyl NPP decommissioning and Shelter Object transformation into an ecologically safe system.
Besides, Mr. Fumio Kishida and his attendants visited the Shelter Object Observation Pavilion and the Arch Assembly Free Access Area, where received the detail information on implementing this project. Mr. Kishida expressed a great interest in the Shelter construction process and technical decisions of this nonconventional facility.
In the ChNPP Book for the Honorable the Minister left a message, in which he expressed his deep excitement and gratitude to all those, who made and is making efforts towards overcoming the Chernobyl disaster consequences, and work at the Plant’s industrial site.
As the Minister mentioned in the interview to “The Day” newspaper, his interest in issues associated with the Chernobyl accident has had a direct practical sense:
“Unfortunately, our countries have the bitter experience of nuclear disasters. That is why it is important in what way they effect on the development of nuclear branches of Ukraine and Japan. Japan faced the great grief in March 2011. And now our main efforts are targeted at overcoming its consequences, and recovery the country. Nowadays many concerned people from Japan visit Ukraine, as you not only possess the similar bitter experience, but also considerable knowledge and achievements in mastering nuclear disasters.
I believe that a mutual exchange of experience, active communication of our united achievements and results on prevention of emergencies to the international community are the joint commitment of Ukraine and Japan, as those countries, which passed through the severe accidents at the nuclear power plants. Consequently, on May 2012 Japan and Ukraine signed the agreement on cooperation in the field of overcoming the consequences at nuclear power plants. The Ukrainian-Japanese Intergovernmental Commission for these issues is in force. We have the intention to continue the close cooperation in this field”.
