MIMURA Akio

Chairman, Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc. (JAIF)

Education

Professional Career

Ex-officio Positions

IWATA Kazuchika

State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry

Mr. Iwata Kazuchika was appointed State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry on September 15, 2023. In this key role, Mr. Iwata’s primary responsibility will be overseeing METI’s ongoing efforts to support the revitalization of Fukushima, and to promote the region’s Green Transformation.

Mr. Iwata joins METI from the House of Representatives, the lower house of Japan’s National Diet where he has represented constituents in the Kyushu region for more than a decade.

In 2022, he served as Chairperson of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Economy, Trade and Industry Subcommittee. While in 2021, Mr. Iwata served as Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry at METI.

Before his appointments at METI, Mr. Iwata served on senior posts in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) including Chairperson, of Committee on Organizations Involved with Commerce, Industry and Medium and Small Sized Enterprises as well as Deputy Director, Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Division. In 2019, he was appointed Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defense.

Earlier in his career as a publicly elected official, Mr. Iwata served as a member of the Saga Prefectural Assembly.

Prior to seeking national elected office, Mr. Iwata worked as a management consultant at the Ohmae & Associates Group.

Mr. Iwata is a graduate of Kyushu University’s Faculty of Law. He was born on September 20,1973 in Saga Prefecture in the Kyushu region of southern Japan.

CHIGUSA Naoki

CEO, World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO)

Dr Naoki Chigusa took up his position as WANO CEO on 1 January 2023. Prior to this, he worked as Director General at WANO Tokyo Centre from July 2014.

Having started his career in 1982 at the Kansai Electric Power Company, Dr Chigusa has more than 40 years of experience in nuclear operations, maintenance and engineering. He has worked at the Ohi and Mihama nuclear power plants, in the Kansai corporate office and has served as Director Nuclear Technology and Executive Officer.

Dr Chigusa has served as an Expert Member on the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan. He is currently an Invited Professor at Osaka University.

Dr Chigusa also has a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from University of Tokyo, and a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Kyoto University.

Daniel PONEMAN

Former Deputy Secretary of Energy, US Department of Energy (DOE) / Distinguished Fellow, Global Energy Center, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council

Daniel Poneman is a distinguished fellow of the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center. He is also a distinguished fellow of the Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and a member of its advisory council. Poneman is the former president and chief executive officer of Centrus Energy Corp., which he led from 2015 to 2023.

Prior to joining Centrus Energy Corp., Poneman served as US deputy secretary of energy and as chief operating officer of the department from 2009 to 2014. Between April 2013 and May 2013, Poneman was the acting secretary of energy.

Before assuming his responsibilities as deputy secretary, Poneman served as a principal of The Scowcroft Group for eight years, and from 1993 through 1996, he served as special assistant to the president and senior director for nonproliferation and export controls at the National Security Council. His responsibilities included the development and implementation of US policy in such areas as peaceful nuclear cooperation, missile technology, space-launch activities, sanctions determinations, chemical and biological arms control efforts, and conventional arms transfer policy.

Poneman first joined the Department of Energy in 1989 as a White House fellow. In 1990, he joined the National Security Council staff as director of defense policy and arms control. Between tours of government service, Poneman practiced law for nine years in Washington, DC, as an associate at Covington & Burling and as a partner at Hogan & Hartson.

After leaving government, Poneman was a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is a distinguished fellow at the Paulson Institute and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Poneman received AB and JD degrees with honors from Harvard University and an MLitt in politics from Oxford University.

TAMURA Tae

Managing Director, Natural Resources and Energy Team, Industry Research Department, Mizuho Bank, Ltd.

Education

Work Experience

Ms. Tamura has been working at Mizuho for more than 20 years and has 8 years’ experience in research and consulting.

Since 2023, she serves as a Managing Director of the Natural Resources and Energy Team at Mizuho Bank’s Industry Research Department. In this position, she is in charge of industry research and strategic consulting in the
electric power, oil & gas, and natural resources sector. She has been designated as a member of the Japanese
government committees in the energy and power sector.

Prior to this position, she was a Senior Industry Analyst for the heavy industry manufacturing sector and the
electric power sector at Industry Research Department from 2015, and took the role of industry research and
strategic consulting for leading companies and government agencies.

Committee Member

Member of public committees held by Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Hervé MAILLART

Head Coordinator, French Nuclear Sector, French Nuclear Strategic Committee (CSFN)

Hervé Maillart has a degree in mechanical engineering.

Since March 2018, he has been Director of Nuclear Coordination, in direct contact with Xavier Ursat Chairman of the French Nuclear Sector for the National Council of Industry (CNI). Hervé Maillart is also Secretary General of the University of Nuclear Skills.

Between 2015 and 2018, Hervé Maillart was VP for international relationships of the French nuclear fleet and Chairman of ISOTC85 and CEN TC430 on standardization in the field of peaceful applications of nuclear energy, nuclear technologies and in the field of the protection of individuals and the environment against all sources of ionising radiations.

Previously, he was “Group Nuclear Assets & Business Manager” within the EDF group, involved in the management of 88 nuclear reactors worldwide.

Between 2016 and 2018, he was also secretary of the PFN “Plateforme France Nucléaire”, a high-level meeting of AREVA, CEA, EDF, in charge of developing coherent positions on the French nuclear sector and preparing the appropriate decisions.

Until 2013, Hervé Maillart was involved in nuclear operation as director of the Nogent-sur-Seine nuclear power plant.

Prior to 2004, he worked in engineering as I&C design manager for new nuclear power plants in France and China. In this context, he was responsible for international teams and carried out several expert missions on the design of nuclear reactors in China, Russia and Germany.

Mark HASTIE-OLDLAND

Deputy Director, Nuclear Infrastructure, Capability and International, Department for Energy Securty & Net Zero, UK

Mark Hastie-Oldland is currently the Deputy Director for Nuclear Infrastructure, Capability and International.

He is responsible for the civilian nuclear fuel cycle in the United Kingdom, as well as the wider fuel and nuclear infrastructure capabilities the UK needs to meet its nuclear objectives in energy, health and national security. He is the departmental sponsor of the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory. He is SRO for the UK’s Nuclear Fuel Fund, the UK High Assay Low Enriched Uranium Programme, and the Medical Radionuclide Innovation Programme. He also is responsible for the UK’s International Civil Nuclear strategy and overall nuclear relationships with key partner countries.

Prior to this role, he has had a wide career within the UK civil service, working in national security, trade policy, trade promotion and energy across a range of Government departments. He was one of the UK’s first Trade Negotiators, leading the UK’s East Asia Trade Policy unit in the Department for International Trade, and has undertaken diplomatic postings in Tokyo and Seoul, as well as short-term placements in Beijing.

KICHISE Shusaku

Director, Nuclear Energy Policy Planning Division, Electricity and Gas Industry Department, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE), Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)

Education

Service Career

SASAKI Toshiharu

Vice Chairman, The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan (FEPC)

Education

Professional Career

YAMAGUCHI Akira

Director, Nuclear Safety Research Association (NSRA)

Fields of Specialization

Education/Career

Professional Activities

KONDO Shunsuke

President, Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan (NUMO)

Education

Career Experience

Research Activities

• Systems analysis and optimization of design and operation of nuclear power reactors
• Probabilistic safety assessment for safety design and management of nuclear facilities
• Design and operation of waste management facilities including deep geological repository
• tudy of nuclear energy policy and nuclear energy research and development strategy

Daniel DELORT

Head, International Relations Department, National Radioactive Waste Management agency (ANDRA)

Daniel DELORT obtained his master degree in Geology and Geophysics in 1988 at Paris University.

Prior to 2004 Daniel was involved in site investigations and design activities for geological storage for Oil & Gas products in France, China, India, Spain, Belgium, Egypt, South Korea and other locations around the world. He developed skills and knowledge of a large variety of potential host rocks as salt, limestone, metamorphic and crystalline formations.

Daniel joined Andra in 2004 to complete the design studies of the French Deep Geological Repository (DGR) for HLW and SNF in Granite and prepare, as the main writer, the “General Architecture Report (TAG) for the 2005 national milestone.

From 2006 to 2010, Daniel was the lead engineer in charge of designing HLW disposal cells in clay formation and waste package transfer systems in the repository. In 2010 he was promoted to Performance Manager of Cigéo to develop and implement the “initial technical specification” of the DGR. In 2012, he joined the international division of Andra as project manager (South Korea, Belgium, and Ukraine). Since November 2019 he is the head of the International Relations Department of Andra.

Anna PORELIUS

Senior Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs, Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB)

Anna Porelius has a bachelor’s degree in media and communication science at Stockholm University, Sweden.

She has been Senior Vice President Communications and Public Affairs and member of the executive management team at the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) for 12 years. She is responsible for trust-building communication in municipalities and national political decision-making processes. She is also chairman of the board of the subsidiary company SKB Näringslivsutveckling AB (business development) and board member of Sweden’s largest nuclear power company.

Anna Porelius was previously head of communications and marketing at two different municipalities and started off her career as a journalist at a newspaper.

Tiina JALONEN

Senior Vice President, Development and Sustainability, Posiva

Ms. Tiina Jalonen is Senior Vice President, Development and Sustainability and Deputy CEO at Posiva Oy. She also acts a member of the Posiva’s Executive Board and she is a member of Board of Directors of Posiva Solutions Oy, a daughter company of Posiva Oy, concentrating on the sales of expertise on final disposal of spent nuclear fuel.

Jalonen has been widely engaged in Posiva’s final disposal programme for over two decades.

Today her responsibilities include development of the disposal concept including the natural barrier and the engineered barrier system, site confirmation studies, long-term safety of the final disposal, the safety case, rock characterization for design and construction of the final disposal facility and Olkiluoto monitoring, and sustainability of final disposal.

She is actively working in international networks of final disposal. She acts as the Chair of the IGD-TP Executive Group, a coordination group for European Nuclear Waste Management Organizations, where she has been a member since the year 2013.

Jalonen earned a Master’s degree in Process Engineering at the University of Oulu, Finland.

ONO Akira

Executive Vice President, President of Fukushima Daiichi Decontamination and Decommissioning Engineering Company (FDEC), Chief Decommissioning Officer (CDO), Deputy General Manager of Nuclear and Plant Siting Division, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO)

Place of Birth

Education

Curriculum Vitae

KAINUMA Hiroshi

Associate Professor, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, The University of Tokyo

Mr. Kainuma graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in the Faculty of Letters. He pursued doctoral studies in the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies at the same university but left upon completion of the required credits for the program.

He has authored numerous articles, reports, and reviews for academic journals as well as newspapers and magazines. He has also received numerous awards and has served as a senior researcher at the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum and as a visiting professor at the Higashi Nippon International University.

YOSHIDA Manabu

Representative Director, HAMADOORI13

Born in Okuma Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Mr. Yoshida is the Representative Director of HAMADOORI13. He also serves as the representative director of Ties Style Co., Ltd., a class-1 architectural firm, and Business Gateway Co., Ltd.

On March 11, 2011, he experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. While living in evacuation shelters, he was involved in nuclear disaster recovery efforts, including emergency risk assessment of buildings within the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant site. Since 2013, he has been engaged in the assessment of target houses under the Cabinet Office’s Disaster Victims Livelihood Recovery Support Act, grasping the situation of Futaba district before it got lifted from the difficult-to-return zones. In 2014, he founded Ties Style Co., Ltd., an architectural firm specializing in architectural design, construction, and civil engineering, contributing to reconstruction efforts.

In 2020, he established Business Gateway Co., Ltd., promoting various businesses for the recovery of Fukushima, including management consulting, marketing, store planning and operation, health food planning and sales, and R&D of cutting-edge drones.

In July 2020, HAMADOORI13 was launched as a voluntary organization of about 50 young people, recognizing the necessity of regional cooperation and the importance of young people taking the lead for the reconstruction of disaster-stricken areas. In January 2021, with an increasing number of supporters, Mr. Yoshida established HAMADOORI13 as a general incorporated association, assuming the position of representative director and officially launching regional cooperation projects.

In August 2021, in collaboration with the Child Future Foundation, he launched the youth entrepreneurship support project “HAMADOORI Phoenix Project,” creating 18 companies in the Hamadori region of Fukushima Prefecture.

SATO Taisuke

CEO, haccoba, Inc.

Driven by the desire for “more freedom in sake making,” Mr. Sato runs “haccoba – Craft Sake Brewery -” in the towns of Odaka and Namie in Fukushima Prefecture, where he embarks on a journey of free-spirited sake production that transcends traditional boundaries. He has been developing sake that embodies the recipe and culture of the homemade sake “doburoku,” which was once produced in Japan, in a contemporary manner.

Upon starting the sake brewery in the Hamadori region of Fukushima Prefecture, the global issue of climate change gradually became a personal concern, leading him to also embark on the electric power business.

Mr. Sato, a graduate of Keio University’s Faculty of Economics, charted his own path following stints at Rakuten and Wantedly. He now holds the position of Vice Chairman at the Japan Craft Sake Breweries Association. His formative training in sake-making took place at “Abe Shuzo,” a revered sake brewery in Niigata Prefecture, renowned for its exceptional craftsmanship.

ASANO Masami

CEO, ASANO NENSHI Co.,LTD.

Born in 1960 in Anpachi-cho, Gifu Prefecture. Mr. Asano graduated from Fukushima University’s Faculty of Education. After working as a teacher for four years, he joined Asano Nenshi Co., Ltd and became the representative director in 1995.

In the 2000s, he was nearly forced to go out of business due to the influence of foreign products, but decided to strive by developing original twisted yarn. The total number of towels shipped using the yarn he developed through trial and error has exceeded 17 million to date, which earned him the “Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award” at the 5th Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Prize in 2013.

Since 2018, Mr. Asano has been participating in a project of a special group led by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to revitalize the future of Japan’s textile industry. After being approached by METI to open a factory in Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture, he decided to expand his business and grandly opened a new facility in the town in April 2023.

He was elected as a member of the Reconstruction Promotion Committee, a panel of experts within the Reconstruction Agency, and is working to disseminate his efforts for Fukushima reconstruction not only domestically but also overseas through exports of yarn and other activities.

ARAI Tsuyoshi

Professor, Program of Chemistry and Materials, College of Engineering, Shibaura Institute of Technology

Education

Professional Career

Specialty

Grace STANKE

Nuclear Fuels Engineer & Clean Energy Advocate, Constellation / Miss America 2023

It’s not often that you find an athlete, engineer, musician, and a former Miss America all in one. Grace Stanke breaks misconceptions surrounding nuclear energy through social media, public engagements, and educational workshops. During her year as Miss America 2023, Grace was named the “New Face of Nuclear Energy” by the Wall Street Journal and was on the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Energy.

While completing approximately 270,000 miles of travel, she finished her undergraduate degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since passing on the title of Miss America, Grace continues to travel to advocate for peaceful purposes of the science of the atom. Encouraging worldwide change for clean, zero-carbon emission energy sources, Stanke emphasizes the benefits of nuclear power and seeks to dispel the myths around nuclear energy while inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians.

In March 2024 Grace begins work as a Nuclear Fuels Engineer at Constellation. Outside of the nuclear industry, Grace is an avid waterskier, classical violinist, and a travel enthusiast.

“I’m not looking to change the entire world on my own – all I need to do is make the one connection that will start a chain reaction.”

WAKABAYASHI Genichiro

Professor, Atomic Energy Research Institute, Kindai University

Genichiro Wakabayashi is a professor at the Atomic Energy Research Institute, Kindai University. After completing his degree at Kyushu University, he started his career in education and research in the field of radiation engineering at Kyushu University in 1998. Since 2011, He has continued his education and research at Atomic Energy Research Institute, Kindai University, as well as the management and operation of the Kindai University reactor. He is currently involved in various nuclear human resource development activities using the reactor.

MAKINO Momoe

Senior Research Fellow, Development Studies Center, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO)

Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). Visiting Research Fellow at Population Council, New York. Bachelor of Law at University of Tokyo in 1999. Master of International Relations at the Fletcher School, Tufts University in 2001. Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Washington in 2021. Her majors are development microeconomics, population economics, and household economics.

Her research published in peer-reviewed journals includes “Dowry in the Absence of the Legal Protection of Women’s Inheritance Rights,” Review of Economics of the Household 17, issue 1 (2019): 287-321. “Marriage, Dowry, and Women’s Status in Rural Punjab, Pakistan,” Journal of Population Economics 32, issue 3 (2019): 769-797. “Labor Market Information and Parental Attitudes toward Women Working Outside the Home: Experimental Evidence from Rural Pakistan,” Economic Development and Cultural Change, forthcoming.

Kristine MADDEN

Nuclear Evaluator and Safeguards Inspector, Office of the Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) / President, International Youth Nuclear Congress (IYNC)

Kristine is a nuclear evaluator and safeguards inspector in the Office of the Deputy Director General and Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Department of Safeguards (DDG-SG), where she provides expert advice on international safeguards implementation. Kristine is also the Department of Safeguard’s Gender Focal Point and a member of the DDG-SG’s Gender, Geographic and Generational Action Project. Additionally, Kristine is president of the International Youth Nuclear Congress (IYNC), a non-profit spanning almost 50 countries and a network of more than 100.000 young professionals and students.

Prior to joining the IAEA Department of Safeguards, Kristine led a team of international experts in the development of licensing guidelines for small modular reactors and severe accident management response in the IAEA department of nuclear safety and security. Previous to this, Kristine worked in the commercial nuclear sector as a senior reactor operator and reactor engineer at U.S. based nuclear power plants and abroad in Ukraine and the U.K. supporting the design and implementation of dry fuel storage systems and facilities.

Kristine is a frequent keynote speaker and lecturer on international safeguards, nuclear power, and climate action. She is also a published author and the recipient of numerous industry awards.

Kristine held an academic fellowship, focused on artificial intelligence, at Harvard University’s Arms Control Negotiation Academy from 2022 to 2023. She holds a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge and a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering and radiological sciences from the University of Michigan.

NISHIDA Momono

Senior Student, Fukui Minami High School

I was born in Osaka in 2006. After entering Fukui Minami High School, the older students’ activities interested me in nuclear power, and I began to research the field. The theme I have been researching is “how to approach uninterested parties” and I have planned events from the same generation point of view on how we receive information.

We have had many activities. For example, we talked about geological disposal and energy with junior high school students and high school students in Japan. Also, we have recycled clearance resources that nuclear power plants are split apart.

I have got some prizes, especially, I was impressed the most when I got a Young Poster Presentation Award.

Furthermore, we investigated with 7 high schools’ students in Japan about “Attitude Towards Nuclear Energy 2023“ in 7 cities including Japan and other countries.

TAKAHASHI Nanami

5th Year Student, Department of Mechanical System Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Fukushima College

Hello. My name is Takahashi Nanami. I am a 5th-year student at National Institute of Technology, Fukushima College (Fukushima KOSEN). I am studying Mechanical Systems Engineering, where I am learning the basic knowledge and techniques of mechanical engineering related to design, manufacturing, and measurement. I am interested in the reconstruction of Fukushima and I am studying about how to decommission nuclear power. I am also interested in building robots. I hope to contribute to the reconstruction of Fukushima by developing robots.

FUNASAKA Yuzuka

4th Year Undergraduate Student, Department of Physics, School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University

Since 2021, Yuzuka studies as an undergraduate student in Waseda University. She majors in physics and is planning to work on nuclear data evaluation for her senior thesis.

When she was 7, Yuzuka read a book about the Universe, which made her become particularly fascinated by Astronomy.　She spent most of her elementary school years in Czech Republic, and Australia during her time in senior high school. While she was in Australia, she challenged herself in attending the HASSE senior space school camp at NASA to delve deeper into her interests in Astronomy. She also addressed cultural issues by leading the school council as one of the school prefects.

In college, Yuzuka encountered topics on radiation physics in her classes for the first time. This eventually made her interested in the research on nuclear energy.

ARAI Shiro

President, Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc. (JAIF)

Shiro Arai is President of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc. (JAIF), the leading private-sector organization for Japan’s nuclear industry to promote peaceful use of nuclear power. He was appointed to his current position as well as President of the JAIF International Cooperation Center (JICC) in August 2020.

Prior to joining JAIF, Mr. Arai served as Director and Deputy Chief Nuclear Officer of the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). He has 37 years of experience in nuclear power generation at TEPCO.

Mr. Arai began his career with TEPCO in 1982 as a nuclear engineer at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. He had been in charge of fuel & core management at 2 nuclear power stations (Fukushima Daiichi and Kashiwazaki-Kariwa) early in his career.

Before taking on his position as Director and Deputy Chief Nuclear Officer in 2019, Mr. Arai also held various general management positions such as Site Superintendent of the Higashidori NPP Construction Office, Superintendent of the Nuclear Safety Center and Deputy Site Manager of the Kashiwazaki Kariwa NPS, and Deputy General Manager of the Nuclear Quality & Safety Management Dept. at the Headquarters.

He received his B.S. in Nuclear Engineering in 1982 from the University of Tokyo.