I am Hiroyuki Ito, the Director of the Codes and Standards Division.

I wish to firstly offer my sincerest sympathy to people who remain displaced following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and resulting discharge of radioactive materials.As a member of the nuclear energy industry, JANTI is reflecting upon its failure to prevent the accident and is renewing its determination to never allow such an accident to happen again.Accordingly, JANTI is committed to fulfilling its duties and responsibilities in improving nuclear safety and communicating the outcome of the efforts to Japan and the rest of the world.

In view of the lessons learned from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the nation’s urgent tasks are to reinforce emergency preparedness for nuclear disasters and countermeasures against severe accidents.

JANTI’s Codes and Standards Division has been assisting the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Atomic Energy Society of Japan and Japan Electric Association, which gather the minds of the nation’s highest intelligence, in newly establishing the standards for performing tsunami PRA (probabilistic risk assessment) and drawing up standards concerning severe accidents.We have also been involved in the joint council of these three societies, aimed at studying what kind of consensus standards should be compiled in response to this accident, to draft a plan that takes into account the distribution of roles among the three societies.The draft plan will be brushed up and given further considerations in each society.JANTI will continue to support such activities of the societies for further enhancing nuclear safety.

Based on the belief that the technology used to formulate standards can contribute to the restoration of Fukushima, we are exploring, for example, whether knowledge about underground disposal of radioactive waste could be applied to the facilities that are temporarily storing decontaminated soil from FukushimaPrefecture, and conveying the findings to the people of Fukushima through the societies.

We also wish to make best use of such technologies for improving the safety level of nuclear power plants.From this perspective, JANTI will further promote the development of its own voluntary guidelines, establish new and revised guidelines on inspections of reactor vessel internals, preventive maintenance countermeasures and repair methods, and create guidelines for the management of electrical equipment and emergency drills.

Reflecting upon the lessons learned from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, JANTI will further improve nuclear safety as a member of the nuclear energy industry in an effort to restore social trust.The guidance and support from our members and other stakeholders would be sincerely appreciated.