Japanese Government Wants to Hold Trilateral Summit Opening Ceremony in #Fukushima City

Another "performance" from the Japanese government to show that Japan is on the "rebound".

I have a feeling that it's going to be, if that happens, an ultra-short ceremony, as I suspect Koreans and Chinese may not want to stay very long in Fukushima City, where the sewage sludge was found to be even more radioactive than the one found in Koriyama.

Kyodo News English cites tight security requirement for the premiers of the three countries as the reason that the ceremony in Fukushima City may not be viable.

Kyodo News English (4/11/2011):

Japan has sounded out China and South Korea about holding the opening ceremony for their trilateral summit later this month in the city of Fukushima, about 60 kilometers northwest of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, to demonstrate Japan's reconstruction efforts following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March, Japanese government sources said Tuesday.

But it could be difficult to arrange the opening ceremony in Fukushima before convening a full session of the trilateral summit in Tokyo on May 21 and 22 as China and South Korea have yet to respond to Japan's proposal, the sources said.

A Foreign Ministry source also said the plan may not be viable because the Japanese government would have to implement very tight security to enable Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak to visit the prefecture together.

Kan also plans to ask Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato to participate in the opening ceremony if it takes place, the sources said.

Kan has instructed the Foreign Ministry and the National Police Agency to arrange the opening ceremony at the Fukushima prefectural office or the governor's residence in the city on the afternoon of May 21, the sources said.

Under Kan's proposal, the three leaders would each make a speech during the opening ceremony before returning to Tokyo, they said.

The leaders are expected to deepen cooperation on the safety of nuclear power and disaster prevention at the trilateral summit in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which devastated northeastern Japan, and the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

The summit will be the fourth of its kind since the inaugural trilateral leaders' meeting in Fukuoka Prefecture in 2008. The three countries have since taken turns as host.

Tweet