Japan had been active in drawing the attention of the Government of Russia and donors to the nuclear legacy problems in the Russian Far East at various international conferences and forums, including the IAEA Contact Expert Group (CEG).

The CEG was established in 1996 at the request of Scandinavian countries under the auspices of IAEA (11 countries and 2 agencies participated) to discuss Russia’s nuclear legacy, including issues related to spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. But the CEG finished its activities in the summer of 2015.

Nuclear legacy problems handled by the CEG covered various issues over extensive geographical areas in the northwestern Russia and the Russian Far East. Japan had been actively engaged in the Far East, which was lagging behind the northwestern region in solving the issues. Japan made financial contributions to the CEG workshops held in Vladivostok in May 2007 and May 2010.