Japan will wait for IAEA agreement on Indo-US nuclear deal

Tokyo, Dec 15: Japan today said it had not reached any "definitive conclusion" about its position on the India-US civil nuclear deal and made it clear that it would wait for India to sign the required country-specific agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) before making up its mind.

Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Summit meeting with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe here this evening, a senior Japanese official said his country's stand must be seen against the background of the fact that it was the only country to have been a victim of a nuclear attack.

''This gives rise to very complex national emotions..In terms of national sentiments, our major premise is that it is essential that nuclear weapons must not be proliferated,'' he explained.

At the same time, he said there was a lot of scope for cooperation between the two countries in the area of civil nuclear energy, once Japan made up its mind on the issue.

''We need some more time on this issue. But in all other areas, Japan is ready to engage with India,'' he said, referring to the various proposals for enhancing the economic cooperation between the two countries and upgrade their ties to a strategic global partnership.

''But this does not mean that it will take a very long time,'' he added.

''If this issue is raised at the summit meeting, I would expect this is what Mr Abe will say,'' he said.

He said Japan appreciated India's non-proliferation record and its unshaken policy of working towards universal nuclear disarmament.

''Based on this, we want to see how India's negotiations with the IAEA go, after which Japan will come to its conclusion,'' he said, adding, ''We attach a particular importance to the IAEA.'' Asked to explain what kind of safeguards Japan would like India to agree to in the India-specific agreement that it will sign with the IAEA, the official said Japan was not looking at any specific points. All that it wanted to ensure was that the agreement with the IAEA was negotiated in a "bona fide manner."

He said Japan would voice its views on the subject when it came up for discussion in the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group, of which it is a key member. He said Japan fully trusted India when it said that its commitment to non-proliferation and universal nuclear disarmament was unshaken.

''But this is not the kind of issue on which, when it is raised at a bilateral summit, it is easy to say 'yes','' he said.

In response to a question about the nuclear debate within Japan, the official said the government and the ruling party was clear that the country should not exercise the nuclear option.

''In that sense, there is a perfect national consensus that Japan should not arm itself with nuclear weapons. ''he said, adding that there was also total agreement within the political establishment that Japan should not be an invader.

The official said that there was a lot of scope for cooperation between the two countries in the area of civil nuclear energy once Japan decided on its position on the issue.

''If and when Japan makes up its mind, there will be a scope for cooperation,'' he said.

The official pointed to the fact that Japan is the only country in the world that was not a nuclear weapons state but was permitted to use the full nuclear cycle. As such, it had to undergo very rigorous inspections by the IAEA regularly, he stressed.

''Even today, Japan is the country where the IAEA inspectors spend the most effort and time,'' he remarked.

The official said Japan today had more than 50 nuclear power plants, which account for about 40 per cent of the country's electricity generation.

In response to a question, the official said India was a country which had decided to possess nuclear weapons in the light of its relations with Pakistan and its other neighbours.

On the other hand, Japan had decided not to go in for nuclear weapons in the light of its past experience of having been a victim of a nuclear attack.

''We continue to have very sensitive national emotions on the nuclear issue. Therefore it is quite a daunting task for both countries to have a common sense on non-proliferation,''he explained.

UNI