JAEA Symposium on US-Japan Nuclear Energy Research Cooperation

JAEA Symposium on US-Japan Nuclear Energy Research Cooperation was hosted on June 21 in Washington DC by the Washington Office of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA).

Participants from the U.S. side were officials of governmental agencies including Department of Energy (DOE) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), former US administration officials, experts from National Laboratories and people from nuclear industry including Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), and the Japanese participants were from JAEA, the Japanese Government including Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), The University of Tokyo and Japanese companies stationed in Washington DC.

As opening remarks, a participant from JAEA mentioned that this symposium in Washington DC was organized as the first attempt to strengthen the function of overseas offices of JAEA based on the Strategy for the International Cooperation adopted in March, 2017, expressed gratitude to the concerned parties for their cooperation in the efforts for holding this symposium, stated importance of Japan-US cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, and indicated expectation toward expansion and deepening of the cooperation. A participant from DOE side expressed gratitude to JAEA for holding the symposium, mentioned importance of cooperation through the framework of Civil Nuclear Energy R&D Working Group (CNWG) and cooperation involving facility use (Joyo, US test reactors, etc.), the visit to Japan of Energy Secretary Perry in the early June, importance of the continued effort of Japan to develop the fast reactor, and possibility of Japan-US cooperation on the fast test reactor that US will explore.

A keynote speaker from JAEA, after introducing overall situation of utilization of nuclear energy in Japan and JAEA’s missions, roles, recent movement and challenges, mentioned that coordination and cooperation with international communities are essential in addressing challenges, and that especially, as US is an important partner of JAEA in a number of areas, it is desirable to expand and strengthen the cooperation both in bilateral and multilateral frameworks. A keynote speaker from the U.S. who is a former US administration official suggested, concerning utilization of nuclear energy in Japan, continual use of nuclear energy in Japan is important from the standpoint of economic efficiency, security and addressing climate change, mentioned the importance of strengthening nuclear safety on physical and human aspects based on the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, appreciating the efforts in Japan in this respect, and stated the importance of effort to restore trust of the public (openness and transparency are the keys).

Subsequently, panel discussion was held with two topics, and in the first panel discussion, the history of the Japan-US nuclear cooperation and challenges in the peaceful use of nuclear energy for both countries were discussed. A former US administration official mentioned that the Trump Administration strongly supports nuclear energy, and expressed the expectation that cooperation in the field of nuclear energy between Japan and US will be promoted under the relationship built on the trust between the both national leaders. A panelist from JAEA described the structure of R&D of Japan contributing to the decommissioning of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi NPS, as well as roles and efforts of JAEA’s Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS) in the structure and current situation of and expectation for Japan-US cooperation (new joint projects and participation of US experts in Fukushima research conference, etc.). A nuclear expert from the U.S. stressed the importance of cooperation between the two countries that experienced the accident at the Three Mile Island NPS and accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi NPS in the field of analysis of severe accidents. A panelist from the University of Tokyo introduced the efforts of the Japanese government-private partnership for human resource development in the nuclear field (Nuclear Human Resource Development Network), efforts of the University of Tokyo for human resources development in the nuclear field, and cooperation with IAEA. Later in the discussion, the participants shared the understanding that securing young human resources in the nuclear field is important for continuing utilization of nuclear energy and effort for the decommissioning TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi NPS, and therefor how to motivate young staff is a challenge to be addressed.

In the second panel discussion, the direction of the cooperation between the two countries were discussed focusing on the R&D on advanced reactors. A panelist from DOE mentioned that Energy Secretary Perry is a strong supporter of nuclear energy, and that from the viewpoint of security, it is important for US to develop and introduce new nuclear technology including small modular reactors (SMR) and advanced reactors, as well as effectively using current light water reactors, and introduced relevant efforts at DOE such as the start of Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) and the possibility of introducing a new test reactor (fast reactor), etc.), and Japan-U.S. cooperation in the framework of CNWG. A panelist from MEXT explained the government organizations in Japan involved in the nuclear energy policy, current situation of operation of research reactors and of nuclear energy R&D (especially, the effort of MEXT concerning the fast reactor and high temperature gas-cooled reactor) and effort for developing human resources in the nuclear field, and suggested cooperation involving mutual use of facilities owned by both sides as the direction of future cooperation, and mentioned that to this end identification of facilities with potential needs is necessary. A panelist from NEI stated that US needs development of innovative nuclear technology in order to overcome the difficult situation such as the premature closure of nuclear power plants, and pointed out the rising interest in the development of advanced reactors among US industry (about 20 companies) and, the importance of developing advanced reactors under the cooperation between Japan and U.S. and deploying the technology internationally.

A panelist from JAEA introduced the current situation of R&D at JAEA on the fast reactor cycle and high temperature gas-cooled reactor, related facilities, and cooperation between Japan and US, and expressed the expectation toward the Japan-US cooperation which involves sharing of knowledge and R&D infrastructure owned by the both countries in the current circumstances where resources for continuing R&D are limited.

In closing, following the wrap-up by the moderators, an attendee from JAEA expressed as closing remarks the gratitude for the participation in this symposium, and indicated expectation for the future discussions held between Japan and US on the cooperation involving shared use of facilities in the both countries and cooperation in the field of human resources development which were discussed in this symposium, as well as on the development of regulation for the fast reactor, which is an important issue though not included in the agenda this time.

This symposium was an effective opportunity where, with the participation of the officials of DOE and other key persons engaged in nuclear energy policy and experts in nuclear R&D, we shared the recognition on the importance of Japan-US partnership in the field of nuclear energy and discussed the future direction of cooperation. We will organize the similar events continuously involving other overseas offices of JAEA.

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