NNSA News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S.-Japan Nuclear Security Working Group (NSWG) convened for its 12th meeting at Oak Ridge National Laboratory last month.
The United States and Japan established the bilateral NSWG in 2011 in response to a shared desire to demonstrate leadership in strengthening nuclear security worldwide and in support of the Nuclear Security Summit process.
The meeting’s co-chairs were Corey Hinderstein, NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, and Ambassador Mitsuko Hayashi, Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Science Department.
“The NSWG is an important forum for the United States and Japan to collaborate to solve the world’s toughest problems, ranging from nuclear safeguards to nuclear transportation security to plutonium management,” Hinderstein said. “I am excited that, even after so many years, our cooperation under the NSWG is still growing.”
Other areas of cooperation under the NSWG include research and development, special nuclear material minimization, countering nuclear smuggling, and nuclear material attractiveness.
Both delegations included a wide range of organizations, such as the United States’ Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of State, Department of Defense, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, National Police Agency, Coast Guard, and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.
“Close cooperation between Japan and the United States in this area is becoming more important,” Ambassador Hayashi said. “Under the drastically changing international situation, we would like to further strengthen cooperation with the United States, which is an important partner in the field of nuclear security, while utilizing this NSWG framework, and contribute to strengthening nuclear security in the world.”
The NSWG developed a Living Roadmap in 2011 containing tangible actions in support of shared objectives and goals. As of the 12th meeting, it has achieved three of its stated goals, and continues to add new ones, including three adopted at this meeting.
In an effort to incorporate current events into the meeting, this NSWG featured a day of landscape discussions on emerging technologies, advanced reactors, and mitigating energy security risks at nuclear power plants.
The 13th U.S.-Japan NSWG will take place in Japan in 2024.
