December 15, 2006

1. Objectives
      The objectives of President Tonozuka's trip were to attend signing ceremonies for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Agreement in Paris and the provisional Broader Approach (BA) Agreement in Brussels. Further, Mr. Tonozuka was to sign the Cooperation Agreement between JAEA and the Belgian Nuclear Research Center (SCK•CEN), and he was to discuss further JAEA collaboration with Mr. Echavarri, Director General of OECD/NEA and members of the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA).

2. Overview
1) ITER Agreement Signing Ceremony
      The President of the French Republic, M. Jacques Chirac, hosted the signing ceremony for the Agreement on the Establishment of the ITER Organization, which was held at the Elysée Palace in Paris on November 21. In the presence of the President of the European Commission, Mr. Barroso, and other ITER members from the US, Japan, China, South Korea, Russia, and India, the extensive international new Agreement was signed.
      Representatives from Japan, Mr. Iwaya, Vice-Minister of MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Mr. Mizuochi, Parliamentary Secretary of MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), Mr. Iimura (Ambassador from the Embassy of Japan in France), several officials from the Embassy of Japan, and Mr. Tonozuka (President of JAEA) attended.
      Following the ceremonial greeting address by President Jacques Chirac, representatives from each country signed the ITER Agreement, an Agreement of exemptions and privileges for ITER employees, and an Agreement of the tentative effect of the signed Agreement.
      Now, as the result of the complete participation of seven parties into the ITER project, the international Agreement to construct and operate a fusion experimental reactor finally has been formally approved.

2) Provisional Agreement and Joint Declaration of BA Agreement Ceremony
      The signing ceremonies of the Provisional Agreement of BA (Broader Approach) on nuclear fusion R&D and the Joint Declaration for the implementation of BA Activities were held on November 22 at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. Representing the EU, Mr. Potocnik (European Commissioner for Science and Research) and, representing Japan, Mr. Mizuochi (Parliamentary Secretary of MEXT) signed the Agreement. Attending the ceremony were Ambassador Kawamura of the Mission of Japan to the European Union, four officials from MEXT, two officials from MOFA, President Tonozuka, and five other JAEA members.
      Through this implemented Agreement, three large projects will begin in Japan; the IFMIF-EVEDA (International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility-Engineering Validation and Engineering Design Activities), the International Fusion Energy Research Centre, and the Japan-EU "Satellite" Tokamak (JT-60 superconductivity). This Agreement prescribes each party's contributions and share of roles, and establishes tentative schedules between Japanese and European entities.


3) Signing Ceremony for JAEA-SCK•CEN Agreement for Nuclear Energy R&D
      An agreement for R&D of nuclear energy between JAEA and the Belgian Nuclear Research Center (SCK•CEN) was concluded on November 23 at the headquarters of SCK•CEN in Brussels by the signatures of Mr. Giotto, member of the Board of Directors of SCK•CEN, Mr. Deconinck, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SCK•CEN, and Mr. Tonozuka, President of JAEA. This agreement followed the basis of a memorandum drafted when the Prince of Belgium visited Japan during the Aichi World Expo 2005. The collaborative activities include nuclear transmutation by accelerator driven systems (ADS), decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear facilities, development of reactor structural materials, research addressing high-level radioactive waste disposal, and other fields identified in the agreement. Under this agreement, aiming at future progress in this cooperation, each party has agreed to appoint one coordinator and to hold a working group meeting at least annually for each cooperative activity.
      Belgium has seven PWRs providing a total generating capacity of 5.6 GW of electricity, which satisfies 55% of Belgium's electricity demand. SCK•CEN was established in 1952 for the R&D of nuclear and other forms of energy as a Belgian academic and industrial center. With four research reactors, SCK•CEN has about 630 employees (about one-third having doctoral degrees).
      The annual budget of SCK•CEN is 80 M€, of which 50% is directly from government grants, 10% is derived indirectly through activities for dismantling decommissioned installations, and the remaining 40% is from contractual work and services.
      The main goals of this Center are to support safety R&D of nuclear power reactors, to research and develop the nuclear fuel cycle by utilizing ADS nuclear transmutation; and to advance nuclear fusion research, geological disposal of radioactive waste, decommissioning of nuclear facilities, and radiation chemistry. Other very important roles of the Center are to investigate the impact of nuclear disasters and to ensure the safety of facilities, and to support nuclear related education and training, the activities of the nuclear power industry, and medical and nuclear applications research.

4) Meeting with Mr. Echavarri, Director-General of OECD/NEA
      Mr. Tonozuka met with Mr. Luis E. Echavarri, Director-General of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the evening of November 21. Their discussion addressed the latest nuclear energy circumstances and prospects. Regarding GNEP and GIF, Mr. Echavarri mentioned that NEA was not involved in political subjects and participated in technical support only; however, GNEP had a very broad concept, which might need a similar framework as GIF in each field of GNEP.
      Mr. Echavarri also expressed optimism about the availability of reactor fuel in light of dwindling natural uranium resources. The amounts of uranium deposits are estimated to be capable of supplying nuclear fuel for only another 70 to 80 years. The NEA has an optimistic assessment of the nuclear fuel supply situation, since it found the fuel supply for reactors theoretically can be extended 100 times due to efficient uranium usage through the introduction of FBRs.
      Recently NEA has issued two important publications about uranium resources. One summarizes the prospects of uranium resources, production, and demand in the next four decades, and concludes that there are sufficient uranium resources even with the Nuclear Renaissance. In addition, Mr. Echavarri mentioned that these publications will have great worldwide impact because they explain that the development of the FBR would play a key role in utilizing uranium very efficiently. Thus, the goal of FBR commercialization within 30 to 40 years would be an important message to policy makers.
      At the end, Mr. Echavarri said to Mr. Tonozuka, "Circumstances of nuclear energy have changed for the better recently, especially in these last two years. So as to expand the use of nuclear energy in the future, it is important to inform policy makers of the significance of R&D collaborations on high-level radioactive wastes and the FBR together with the prospects of those developments. Now, I would like to ask for your continued close cooperation with us."

5) Meeting with Mr. Pradel, Director of Nuclear Energy, CEA
      On November 20, Mr. Tonozuka discussed further CEA-JAEA cooperation with Mr. Pradel at the head office in Saclay. During the meeting, President Tonozuka stated, "It is important to pursue a global standard prototype of FBR. JAEA is eager to promote its development in cooperation with other organizations around the world. I think it is also important to narrow down the scope of development. With regard to the Jules Horowitz Reactor, we are going to cooperate positively by utilizing the irradiation reactors that both Japan and France own"

3. Summary

1)	We have solved longstanding issues by signing the Agreement on the Establishment of the ITER Organization. The Agreement allows us to start the ITER Project, which will be the basis of fusion energy development from now on. Since JAEA will be designated as an implementation organization, we have made a fresh resolve to promote the ITER Project.
2)	JAEA would like to express its appreciation to the EU delegates as well as those from Japan who formulated the draft of the BA agreement in the short period of one and a half years. This Agreement establishes strong cooperative foundations for nuclear fusion R&D between Japan and Europe. By implementing the BA projects with Europe, JAEA will contribute to the realization of a nuclear fusion reactor.
3)	SCK•CEN is the central organization for R&D on the ADS nuclear transmutation experimental facility in the EU. By the approval of the Collaboration Arrangement, we can promote more efficient research cooperation in this field. Moreover, we are also looking forward to advancing cooperation with SCK•CEN in the fields of decommissioning, dismantling, geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste, and reactor structural materials.
4)	It is expected that a speedy decision for policy making will be available on multilateral cooperation because OECD/NEA is a gathering of nations that have the same level of advanced technological bases. After this, we would like to send JAEA staff more than the present along a plan from a long-term perspective in order to achieve the object of JAEA effectively.
5)	As Japan and France are leading countries in the world regarding the development of nuclear energy, it is reaffirmed that we should have closer cooperative relations than now. With regard to further development of the FBR, it is important for us to implement multilateral cooperation and pursue the formation of a global standard of a prototype FBR through narrowing down and focusing on important development items. With regard to the Jules Horowitz Reactor, we are going to positively cooperate by utilizing the irradiation reactors in both Japan and France.