Media Note
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
July 3, 2008
Joint Announcement Concerning Megaports Initiative between the Government of the United States and the Government of JapanBelow is the text of the joint announcement concerning the launch of a pilot project under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Megaports Initiative at the Minami Honmoku Terminal of the Port of Yokohama in Japan, as released in Tokyo on July 3, 2008 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Japan.
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The Governments of the United States of America and Japan share a common concern for the need to increase our individual and joint efforts to detect, deter and interdict illicit trafficking in nuclear and other radioactive material, including terrorist attempts to disrupt global trade and to abuse commercial shipping to further terrorist schemes.
To address this concern, the two Governments plan to launch a pilot project under the Megaports Initiative to monitor cargo containers for nuclear and other radioactive material at the Minami Honmoku Terminal of the Port of Yokohama by installing radioactive materials detection equipment.
The two Governments will exchange data on the illicit movement of nuclear and other radioactive material detected through our joint monitoring in accordance with the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Japan, regarding Mutual Assistance between Customs Administrations, and other legal frameworks.
Taking into account the results of the pilot project, the two Governments will continue to consult on future cooperation in this vital area of common concern, to combat nuclear terrorism.
2008/542
Released on July 3, 2008
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