By Bernama,
Tokyo : Japan, China and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have agreed to set up an inter-governmental hotline for alerts on disasters or accidents at the three countries’ nuclear-related facilities, local media reported.
The agreement, which comes in line with an increase in nuclear power plants, mainly in China, is designed to prevent cross-border damage from nuclear-related accidents, the Vietnam news agency (VNA) quoted a Japanese daily as saying here.
The Memorandum of Agreement between the countries is due to be signed in Tokyo on Sept 9.
The contact system, named “Northeast Asia nuclear safety senior regulators forum,” will link Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and nuclear safety authorities in China and the RoK.
Under the system, the parties will aim to share information on disasters, terrorist attacks or accidents at nuclear-related facilities within a few hours.
According to the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, there are 55 nuclear power plants operating in Japan, 20 in the RoK, and 11 in China. An additional 38 plants are either being constructed or planned in the three countries.