International reactions to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster the IAEA in boosting nuclear safety, including its response mechanism". On 28 March 2011, at a special briefing on the Fukshima nuclear accidents held for IAEA Member States, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano announced that a high-level "IAEA Conference on Nuclear Safety" should take place in Vienna. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Japan "underestimated the danger of tsunamis and failed to prepare adequate backup systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant". This repeated a widely held criticism in Japan that "collusive ties between regulators and industry led to weak oversight and a failure to ensure adequate safety levels
International Atomic Energy Agency acceptance of the IAEA Statute to the United States, which functions as the depositary Government for the IAEA Statute. The State is considered a member when its acceptance letter is deposited. The United States then informs the IAEA, which notifies other IAEA Member States. Signature and ratification of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) are not preconditions for membership in the IAEA. The IAEA has 170 member states. Most UN members and the Holy See are Member States of the IAEA. Non-member states Cape Verde (2007), Tonga (2011), Comoros (2014), Gambia (2016) and Saint Lucia (2016) have been approved for membership