The 15^th Top Regulators Meeting (TRM) on Nuclear Safety between China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) took place in Beijing on 24–25 July. Dong Baotong, Vice-Minister of Ecology and Environment and Administrator of the National Nuclear Safety Administration, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. Ban Nobuhiko, Commissioner of Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), and Cho Chung Ah, Secretary-General of the Republic of Korea’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC), led their respective delegations to the meeting. The Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat attended as an observer.

China commended the TRM as an effective mechanism for cooperation and information exchange in the field of nuclear safety among the three countries. Technical exchanges and cooperation have been continuously improved through executive meetings, working group meetings, and joint emergency drills under this mechanism, playing an important role in maintaining nuclear safety in the region. China is willing to work with Japan and the ROK to strengthen cooperation through policy dialogue and technical exchanges, with the aim of improving nuclear safety in the region and beyond.

Representatives from the nuclear safety regulatory authorities of China, Japan and the ROK discussed the latest developments in nuclear safety regulation and received updates on the progress of the Human Resources and Emergency Preparedness and Response Working Groups, the results of the last two joint emergency drills and the next steps. Japan presented an update on the decommissioning of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. China urged Japan to continue to accept international monitoring, as well as China’s own sampling and monitoring of the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from Fukushima, and to effectively control the risks associated with such discharge.

During the meeting, the three delegations also held in-depth discussions on technical topics such as the long-term operation of nuclear power plants, risk-informed regulation and feedback on operational experience. Following the meeting, the Japanese and ROK delegations visited the National Technical Research Base for Nuclear and Radiation Safety Regulation.

(Source: National Nuclear Safety Administration)