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Nuclear Energy Disaster Prevention Drill Wednesday, October 24, 2007 JAPANESE

A Nuclear Energy Disaster Prevention Drill was conducted at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. The drill was based on a scenario in which a criticality accident had occurred at a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Aomori Prefecture and subsequently radioactive materials were released outside the plant, resulting in a state of nuclear emergency. The national government, Aomori Prefecture, Rokkasho Village and related businesses, among others, conducted the exercise jointly. In response to the accident, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda issued a Declaration of a Nuclear Emergency Situation and ordered relevant organizations to make every effort to provide adequate information to local residents. Then, as part of the drill, a meeting of the Government Countermeasure Headquarters for Nuclear Disasters was convened with the purpose of addressing the situation. At the meeting, Prime Minister Fukuda, who served as the Chair of the Government Countermeasure Headquarters, said, "Securing the safety of local residents should be the top priority, and we must control the situation as early as possible. I will decide the government's basic policy based on reports that I am going to receive from relevant ministries and agencies concerning the extent of the damage and their responsive measures." Thereafter, Prime Minister Fukuda held a video conference with the person in charge at the plant, with Mr. Shingo Mimura, the Governor of Aomori Prefecture, and with Mr. Kenji Furukawa, the Mayor of Rokkasho Village, and grasped the on-site situation. At the video conference, the Prime Minister quickly responded to requests for assistance and ordered the Local Headquarters for Disaster Control to promptly take necessary steps.