“Nuclear Guard” Will Will Be Inherited August 28th 19:44
Vienna, the capital of Europe and Austria, where international organizations such as the United Nations are concentrated. In late August, when the summer heat was eased, a memorial service for a top international organization was held.
Noya Amano.
He worked as an expert on nuclear disarmament issues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
After that, for 10 years until his death, he worked on the verification of nuclear problems, a major threat to humanity, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Amano-san thinks about what he left as a message to us and whether his will will be passed down based on previous interviews.
(Vienna Branch Manager Hiroto Awazu, former Vienna Branch Director Keno Obara, General Affairs Bureau Fumitaka Sato)
Memorial service
In the memorial ceremony, Amano-san's many years of achievements were introduced, and the Spanish guitar song "Vermilion Tower" that Amano-san loved was also played.
From the ambassadors of each country who attended, with a voice mourning for premature death, “Mr. Amano was not good at humor as it was painful” or “I was good at enjoying life. An episode such as “I liked Nice over Paris” was also introduced.
The memorial service for about an hour was attended by ambassadors, government officials such as the former president, and IAEA staff, and the venue with more than 600 seats could not be accommodated. As summer approached the end, IAEA finally felt calm.
1 month of shock
“I am very grateful that Amano Secretary-General has passed away.”
The impact announcement from IAEA was about one month ago in mid-July.
In fact, Mr. Amano's physical condition has been an “open secret” since last year among some diplomatic officials in Vienna.
“It seems that she is in bad health and is returning to Japan.” In early July, Mr. Amano didn't appear at the special board meeting that IAEA suddenly opened as the Iranian problem became more tense.
Soon after, the information about resignation began, and suddenly jumped into the intelligence from IAEA.
The death news runs around the world.
From the UN Secretary General Guterres, President Putin, and other leaders and foreign ministers, as well as from UN officials, were sorry for premature death and voiced appreciation for their achievements.
Meanwhile, in Vienna, IAEA executives expressed a strong sense of crisis.
“It ’s an unprecedented emergency.
The IAEA, which is proud of its coolness, was wrapped in great confusion in the sudden absence of the top.
Strong commitment to the Fukushima accident
Mr. Amano has been facing the world's nuclear issues for 10 years since 2009.
One of the achievements is the response to the unprecedented nuclear accident that hit Japan in 2011, the second year since I assumed office.
Immediately after the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, IAEA dispatched a survey team to the site and put effort into verifying the accident.
Mr. Amano also visits the site in Fukushima.
The enthusiasm for the verification of the Fukushima accident and the prevention of recurrence has been unmistakable.
The response to the safety of nuclear power around the world is highly appreciated.
Neutrality and trust
Speaking of Amano, many people talk about “fair and neutral” and “professional professionals”.
Mr. Amano has played three selections as the IAEA Executive Director. It is said that it was because it had gained the support of developing countries through “neutrality and trust”.
The neutrality was also demonstrated in responding to the Iran nuclear development issue.
This issue, which is said to be the largest gunpowder in the Middle East, will reach a major turning point in 2015 when the European and American countries such as the United States and Iran have reached a final agreement.
Will Iran adhere to the agreement and limit nuclear development? IAEA played the role of verification and monitoring.
Although IAEA was not a party to the negotiation of the nuclear agreement, it played a role in supporting the basis of the agreement.
In fact, following the death of Amano, voices from both the conflicting United States and Iran are evaluating their leadership skills.
President Bolton, US “The sincere commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and the stance of appealing for the peaceful use of nuclear power has been unparalleled as the top for 10 years.”
Iran Araguchi, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, “We have worked closely together. I want to praise his experienced and professional skills.”
Amano-san, the Japanese ambassador to Kitano, who is based in Vienna, described it as “trusted by countries with different interests.
Contribution to developing countries
Also, there are generally lesser known contributions.
About the peaceful use of nuclear energy, especially “radiation technology”.
As Amano-san, when he became the secretary general, he focused on applying nuclear energy to the treatment of diseases such as cancer, Ebola hemorrhagic fever and Zika fever.
This was a strong need for many countries such as Africa and South America.
After Amano's death, many ambassadors from developing countries often heard words of gratitude for their contributions in developing countries.
Last solo interview
“Neutrality”, which improved Amano's reputation, but we have been partly crying for “neutrality”.
Just because the IAEA top is Japanese, there is no preferential treatment for Japanese media.
Also, when it comes to press conferences and interviews, there were many safe phrases, and the media did not show a lot of space.
However, three months before his death, in April, when he responded to our single interview in New York, he looked differently than usual.
It was about the North Korean nuclear issue where the two US-North Korea summits were held.
“It's nice to see the top of the US and North America, but it needs to be linked to concrete results. Conversely, a promise without a solid inspection doesn't make much sense. Is an activity that will benefit North Korea, the interests of the countries concerned, and the benefit of the entire international community if the arrangement continues for a long time. ''
We were also surprised by the in-depth remarks that could be taken with the American President Trump.
At that time, IAEA was concerned that the US Trump administration, which is pursuing a dialogue with North Korea, would lead the United States in denuclearization processes such as inspections.
Wasn't there a sense of crisis that you wanted to reaffirm the importance of IAEA's role through the media?
And maybe, at that time, I was already prepared with my physical condition in mind. Looking back now, I don't feel like that.
The next nuclear guard
Today, the situation surrounding the world's core is completely out of sight.
In the Middle East, Iran is ready for further nuclear development in early September, and North Korea's denuclearization negotiations remain in Asia.
It is also said to be the “era of nuclear weapons rehabilitation”, with concerns over the arms race between the United States and Russia, the two largest nuclear powers in the world.
During the interview with NHK, Mr. Amano replied with a simple question as to why he responded to the interview now.
“The world is in an important phase around the nucleus, such as North Korea and Iran, so I wanted to talk directly about my thoughts.”
It was a strong sense of crisis that Mr. Amano showed calmly and did not talk much to the media.
The IAEA is aiming to hold an election for the next Secretary-General and select it in October.
How will you tackle the challenges that you could not fulfill, inheriting Amano's will? The role of IAEA is bigger and heavier.
Hiroto Awazu, head of the Vienna branch
Takeo Ohara, former head of Vienna
Fumitaka Sato, reporter from the United States