During Prime Minister, David Cameron’s first official visit to Japan, the UK and Japan have announced a joint-framework on civil Nuclear Cooperation that will provide the opportunity for UK companies to engage in decommissioning opportunities in Japan worth billions of pounds.
Under the agreed framework, both countries will work together and share expertise to further the development of nuclear power. In particular, Japanese companies’ technical expertise in new plant design and construction will be combined with the UK’s decommissioning and waste-management experience and technology. Paving the way for Japanese-designed nuclear reactors to be built in the UK.
More importantly, the two countries have agreed to share expertise, experience and technology to help the remediation, decontamination and decommissioning of the Fukushima nuclear plant. .
Speaking at the nuclear summit, David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science said: “The cooperation agreement signed demonstrates the strength of UK civil nuclear research and industry expertise. It will enable British researchers and companies to cooperate more closely with their Japanese counterparts, provide services and share technology.”
Charles Hendry, Minister of State for Energy, added: “The UK has a wealth of expertise and experience in the area of nuclear decommissioning and waste management. I am in no doubt that cooperation with Japan in these areas will bring mutual benefits.
“This agreement will open up opportunities for UK firms to work with Japanese industry and to continue to share the UK's world-class expertise, just as we did in the aftermath of Fukushima.”
Separately, the Nuclear Industry Association and the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further industrial collaboration between companies from the UK and Japan.
