Editorial
New IAEA chief Amano given tough duty as leader of nuclear watchdog
Yukiya Amano, Japanese ambassador to the international organizations in Vienna, has been elected as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). As the first Japanese chief of the IAEA, Amano will shortly replace outgoing Director General Mohamed El-Baradei.
However, his appointment was by no means unanimous -- after failing to garner enough votes in the first round of the election in March, he finally won after one representative abstained, with support from 23 representatives instead of the usual two-thirds majority.
Behind his narrow victory is the conflict between the world's nuclear powers, which attach importance to nuclear non-proliferation, and developing countries aiming to expand their use of atomic energy. Amano had difficulties in gaining support particularly from the latter because he was widely viewed as a representative of the former.
The new IAEA leader' ability to relieve developing countries' distrust and accommodate conflicting interests between member countries will be tested in the months to come.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the core of international efforts toward nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, prohibits all countries other than the five nuclear powers -- the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China -- from possessing nuclear weapons, while allowing all countries to use atomic power for peaceful purposes. It also requires the five nuclear powers to make efforts to reduce nuclear arms.
There has been little progress in efforts by the five nuclear powers toward nuclear arms reduction, and yet the use of atomic energy by countries other than the five is subject to strict regulation. Non-nuclear powers and developing countries feel a sense of unfairness about the treaty.
In recent years, a growing number of developing countries and those with few natural resources are trying to introduce nuclear power generation in what is called "atomic renaissance." There is also growing demand for atomic energy in developed countries as they attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
On the other hand, Iran has gone ahead with uranium enrichment in defiance of demands by the IAEA and the U.N. Security Council that it stop such activities. Moreover, North Korea carried out a second nuclear test after declaring that it would withdraw from the NPT and expelling IAEA inspectors from its territory. Under these circumstances, the IAEA is required to play a more important role than ever in promoting peaceful use of atomic energy and preventing the diversion of such energy into military use.
In order to restore the confidence in the NPT, it is necessary to support the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama who is enthusiastic about nuclear arms reductions and take the lead in generating a trend toward nuclear disarmament.
Amano, who declared he will dedicate himself to the prevention of nuclear proliferation as a person from the only country in the world that experienced nuclear bombings, and the government that supported him in the IAEA election should be aware of their responsibility.
(Mainichi Japan) July 4, 2009