Yukiya Amano

was a Japanese diplomat, who served as the Director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 1 December 2009 until his death on 18 July 2019. Previously, Amano served as an international civil servant for the United Nations and its subdivisions.

Early life Amano was born on 9 May 1947 in Yugawara, a town in Kanagawa near the Tokyo metropolitan area. He started his studies at the University of Tokyo in 1968. After graduating from the Faculty of Law, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in April 1972. He specialized in the international disarmament issue and nuclear nonproliferation efforts. In France, from 1973 to 1975, Amano studied at the University of Franche-Comté, and as well as at the University of Nice. During this time, the IAEA and its Director General Mohamed ElBaradei received the Nobel Peace Prize. Amano represented the IAEA as the chairman at the Nobel Prize award ceremony held in December 2005.

In September 2008, Japanese government announced that it had nominated Yukiya Amano to be the next Director General of the IAEA. On 2 July 2009, he was elected by the Board of Governors as Director General for the IAEA in the sixth round of voting. He defeated South African representative Abdul Samad Minty, his primary rival. On 3 July 2009 all 145 IAEA member states formally appointed Yukiya Amano "by acclamation".

On 1 December 2009, Amano began his first term as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In November 2010, British newspaper The Guardian reported on a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable originating a year earlier in Vienna, detailing a meeting between Amano and an American ambassador. The author of the cable summarized a statement by Amano in which the latter offered that he "was solidly in the U.S. court on every key strategic decision from high-level personnel appointments to the handling of Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program." In March 2012, Amano was accused by several former senior IAEA officials of pro-western bias, over-reliance on unverified intelligence, and of sidelining sceptics.

Views on nuclear proliferation In an interview mid-2009 with the Austrian newspaper Die Presse, Yukiya Amano said he was "resolute in opposing the spread of nuclear arms because I am from a country that experienced Hiroshima and Nagasaki".

According to Amano, "(t)here has been a very significant improvement in the efficient and safe performance of the nuclear industry in the past two decades. This reflects factors including improved design, better operating procedures, a strengthened and more effective regulatory environment, and the emergence of a strong safety culture. The IAEA promotes an integrated approach to nuclear safety, focusing on management systems, effective leadership, and safety culture. It is important that countries' safety and security infrastructures keep pace with developments in all areas of nuclear science and technology. We must never be complacent."

Official visit to the Philippines

On 10 December 2010, at the opening session of the Nuclear Power Forum organised by Center for Energy Sustainability and Economics and Arc Media Global, Amano said that the IAEA has "provided assistance in strengthening the country´s capabilities in nuclear science and technology and energy planning" as well as "advice on developing a Human Resource Development Plan for Nuclear Energy." At the Forum, Amano said the Philippines "plays an important role at the global level, for example by chairing the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons."

The Philippines assumed presidency of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in May 2010, which discussed peaceful use of nuclear energy, non-proliferation, and disarmament of nations developing nuclear weapons.

Involvement in Japanese nuclear emergency after earthquake and tsunami Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accidents caused by earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011, Amano held a meeting with then-Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan in Tokyo on 18 March. Amano, who had just arrived from the agency's headquarters...said he would dispatch a team 'within days' to monitor radiation near the damaged plant." At the meeting, Amano said in his statement that he agreed on the necessity to disclose as much information as possible on the unfolding nuclear crisis in Fukushima. 'What's important is coordination with international society and better transparency,' Mr. Amano told reporters before the meeting."

Personal life Amano was married to Yukika Amano. He spoke French and English in addition to his native Japanese. The couple have no children.

Death Amano died of "unspecified illness" in Tokyo, Japan, on 18 July 2019, at the age of 72.

IAEA said its flag over its headquarters in Vienna has been lowered to half-mast. IAEA has said in a statement when he died: "The Secretariat of the International Atomic Energy Agency regrets to inform with deepest sadness of the passing of Director-General Yukiya Amano. Director-General is in contact with members of the board of governors regarding his future plans. He will make a formal communication to the board at an appropriate time. We cannot but imagine Director-General Amano's sorrow in his passing amid his third term. We extend our condolences to his bereaved families over his death."

Awards and honors Grand Cordon of Order of the Rising Sun (2019, posthumous) Medal "25 Years of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan" (2017) Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (2018)

Other honors On 5 June 2020, IAEA opened the Yukiya Amano Laboratories in honor of him. Located at the outskirts of Vienna, the building houses three of the five laboratories run jointly by the IAEA and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Publications "A Japanese View on Nuclear Disarmament", The Non-Proliferation Review, 2002 "The Significance of the NPT Extension", Future Restraints on Arms Proliferation, 1996 "La Non-Prolifération Nucléaire en Extrême-Orient", Proliferation et Non-Proliferation Nucleaire, 1995 "Sea Dumping of Liquid Radioactive Waste by Russia", Gaiko Jiho, 1994