Japan Ready to Assist Vietnam in Building Nuclear Power Plants

Japan is ready to assist Vietnam in human resources training, finance and technology transfer for the communist nation in its bid to develop nuclear power plants, said Japanese lawmaker Yukio Hatoyama, president of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance. Hatoyama, who is also former Japanese premier, made this commitment at a reception in Hanoi March 21 given by To Huy Rua, a Politburo member and head of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (CPVCC) Commission for Organization. The Japanese senior legislator is in his official visit to the one-party Vietnam. The former Japanese government leader affirmed that Japan always treasures the development of the Japan-Vietnam strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia, particularly in the implementation of large-scale projects. In turn, Politburo member Rua proposed the Japanese parliament support the increase in official development assistance (ODA) provision to Vietnam and assist in human resource training and infrastructure development. One day earlier Hatoyama met with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who assured that Vietnam’s government will stand by its decision to buy two nuclear reactors from Japanese companies, the Japanese newswire Kyodo reported, adding PM Dung has called on for Tokyo to continue cooperation in Vietnam’s nuclear power program. The disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant apparently has not changed Vietnam’s trust in Japanese nuclear technology, Kyodo said. Hatoyama was quoted by Kyodo as saying that during the meeting, Dung also asked for Japan’s support in Vietnam’s territorial disputes with China in the East Sea. The Japanese lawmaker also asked Vietnam to support the Japanese stance in its territorial dispute with the giant communist nation in the East China Sea, Kyodo reported. Vietnam is going to build first nuclear power plant in 2014 in its ambitious program to operate its first nuclear power plant with an annual capacity of 1MW by 2020 and increase the total capacity of nuclear power plants to 10,700 MW by 2030.  The communist nation is going to build its first two nuclear power plants in the central coastal province of Ninh Thuan with technological and financial assistance from Japan and Russia. Each plant may cost $3.5 billion for the country whose domestic gross domestic (GDP) was about $110 at end-2011.

Vietnam also interests in the S. Korean nuclear technology while the S. Korean government committed to support the communist nation technically and financially to build nuclear power plants. (Nhan Dan – The People Mar 22 p1, www.japantimes.co.jp  Mar 21)