IAEA chief Amano to step down early?

U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Yukiya Amano plans to step down early, in March of next year, because of an unspecified illness that has visibly weakened him over the past year, diplomats who follow his agency’s work said.

"The 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," Reuters cited the IAEA as saying.

Amano, a 72-year-old Japanese diplomat, was reappointed in 2017 to a third four-year term in charge of the International Atomic Energy Agency, until Nov. 30, 2021.

Amano’s plan to leave in March leaves the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors time to pick a successor, who must also be approved by the agency’s General Conference, a meeting of all its member states. A regular annual meeting of the General Conference is due to be held in September.