International Symposium "Think Together Now about Geological Disposal -Learning from Efforts Made around the World-" was held

International Symposium Think Together Now about Geological Disposal -Learning from Efforts Made around the World- was held

The final disposal of high-level radioactive waste is a common issue for all countries that utilize nuclear power. In the past dialogues, many people showed interest in the background of international discussions and the status of efforts made in other countries. In response to such interest, on March 28, 2016, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and NUMO co-hosted an international symposium about geological disposal with two keynote speakers from Sweden: Ms. Saida Laârouchi Engström, Vice President of the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) which is the implementer of geological disposal and Mr. Jacob Spangenberg, Mayor of Östhammar Municipality which has Forsmark selected by SKB as the planned construction site for the disposal facility. SKB has been organizing many dialogues with local governments and people over a long period and has built relationships of mutual trust with them. Ms. Engström and Mr. Spangenberg suggested various lessons learned from their experiences. The panel discussion focused on three main topics: "safety of geological disposal," "public and local understanding, and consensus building," and "compensation." The programme is as follows:

Date: March 28 (Mon.), 2016
Time: 1:30 p.m. through 4:30 p.m.
Venue: Marunouchi Hall, 7th floor, Marunouchi Building, 2-4-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Programme:

1. Opening remarks

Mr. Suzuki Junji, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
Mr. Magnus Robach, Ambassador of Sweden to Japan

2. Keynote speeches (The presentation materials are available for download below.)

"World-Wide Activities towards Geological Disposal and Japanese Direction" by Mr. Masuda Hiroya, Chairman, Radioactive Waste Working Group, Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy
"The Swedish Nuclear Waste Management Programme Stakeholder dialogue" by Ms. Saida Laârouchi Engström, Vice President, SKB
"The Municipality of Östhammar" by Mr. Jacob Spangenberg, Mayor of Östhammar Municipality

3. Panel discussion

Coordinator:

Ms. Ito Satoko, Freelance Newscaster

Panelists:

Mr. Masuda Hiroya, Chairman, Radioactive Waste Working Group, Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy
Ms. Saida Laârouchi Engström, Vice President, SKB
Mr. Jacob Spangenberg, Mayor, Östhammar Municipality
Ms. Akiba Etsuko, Commissioner, ASCA Energy Forum
Mr. Kobayashi Hirokazu, Director, Radioactive Waste Management Policy Division, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy
Dr. Kondo Shunsuke, President, NUMO