I am Kiyoshi Naruse, the Director of the Strategic Planning Office and the Plant Technical Support Division, as well as the Director in charge of the Technical Skill Development Division.

I wish to offer my deepest condolences for those who passed away in the Great East Japan Earthquake.My sincere sympathy also goes out to people who were affected by the earthquake or continue to live in evacuation following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station occurred at a time when the importance of nuclear power generation was increasing.Those who engage in nuclear energy operations were reminded once again of the potential danger of the technology.The important thing now is to take appropriate accident response measures and support areas to which evacuation orders have been issued, while also assessing the accident calmly to identify the technological shortcomings that led to the accident.Providing such information in good faith will contribute greatly to the international society.

At the same time, it is perfectly understandable that Japanese people now have doubts about the safety of other nuclear power stations.It is the mission of us JANTI to verify and further enhance the safety of other nuclear power stations.

As accident response at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station indicates, frontline on-site workers are what we can really rely on.Providing support for them so that they can work in high morale is the key to ensuring nuclear safety.Imposing unreasonable demands on them or bothering them with trivial matters would lower the level of motivation on the frontline.Both the government and the plant licensee must reflect upon whether their past management approach undermined on-site morale.

The activities of our Plant Technical Support Division and Technical Skill Development Division relate directly to on-site plant operations.

The Plant Technical Support Division is dedicated to optimizing the maintenance activities of nuclear power stations.In support of electric utilities' common technical foundation, the Division supports networking activities of field engineers, and has built a technical information library on maintenance activities to promote the sharing of basic technical data.

The Technical Skill Development Division is aimed at the development and maintenance of engineering personnel.The Division has been running the Operation Supervisor Qualification System since April 2009.The maintenance skill certification system on private-sector personnel has also entered into the phase of full-scale administration.The Division will also continue to enhance programs offered at the NuclearAcademy established in FY2008 to maintain and improve the capacity of frontline engineers at nuclear power stations.

Through these activities, we will continue to help frontline plant personnel maintain strong motivation, which, in turn, will lead to the pursuit of advanced nuclear safety.

Your continued support and cooperation would be sincerely appreciated.