Has fast breeder Monju been good for Japan’s energy?

—Fukushima Governor Formally Announces Rescinding of Prior Approval for Pluthermal Program, declares, “On this occasion, we should rethink [Japan’s] nuclear power policy itself, taking it back to the starting point.” —Asahi reports it is now certain that there will be a push for reconsideration of the nuclear fuel cycle. Asahi Web Site. 2002 September 26th 13:24English translation by Green Action(Note words in brackets are by translator.) At the prefectural legislative session held [September] 26, Fukushima Governor Eisaku Sato, stating that the precondition for implementing the Pluthermal Program had collapses as a result of Tokyo Electric’s cover-up of nuclear power plant problems, formally declared his decision to rescind prior approval for…

23 January 2011 Statement by Minamata Victims and Supporter Groups Addressing the Government of Japan’s Proposal to Call the Mercury Treaty the “Minamata Convention” ta disease is an ongoing tragedy. As the global community negotiates the mercury treaty, the Japanese government must first confront the Minamata disease issue at home. After fifty-five years of struggling with the disaster, we are opposed to naming the mercury treaty the “Minamata Convention” until the tragedy is faced head on and a road map created for its genuine resolution. The Government of Japan must make clear what was learned from Minamata, implement the lessons learned and, before the diplomatic conference in 2013, reexamine its…

PDF Download [Compiled 5 January 2006 by Green Action] Statements on Rokkasho, Surplus Plutonium and MOX Fuel Fukushima governor Eisaku Sato’s statement to the Japan Atomic Energy Commission about the Rokkasho reprocessing plant and surplus plutonium: “Why rush to operate a new reprocessing facility when there is still no solution for disposing the 40 tons of plutonium Japan already possesses?” Submission to Public Comment on draft of “Framework for Nuclear Energy Policy”, August 2005 —– Of the 430 tons of spent nuclear fuel to be reprocessed during the active testing scheduled to start at the Rokkasho reprocessing plant in February, 310 tons belong to the two largest electric utilities in…

Dr. Edwin S. LymanSenior Staff ScientistUnion of Concerned ScientistsMarch 3, 2006 1. MOX Fuel Relocation During LOCAs The planned use of MOX (pluthermal) fuel in the Genkai-3 reactor in Saga Prefecture will be well outside the existing commercial experience base for MOX fuel with regard to plutonium concentration and fuel burnup. Saga Prefecture acknowledges this, but asserts that even in the absence of commercial data for the regime to which the fuel will be exposed, sufficient experimental data exists and analytical tools are reliable enough to make accurate safety assessments. This assertion is not justified. While there is a very small quantity of experimental data on the performance of MOX…

Stop Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant in Aomori Japan — For Immediate Release: 25 April 2003 Contact: Aileen Mioko Smith Mobile: +81-90-3620-9251 On 25 April, Green Action and other Japanese citizen and consumer organizations issued an appeal to governments party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty asking them to urge Japan "not to go forward with separation of massive quantities of plutonium at the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant." The Rokkasho plant (800 tons HM/year) is located in Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan and is scheduled to begin uranium commissioning this June according to Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd (JNFL), owner/operator of the plant. Reprocessing is scheduled to start in 2005. The plant is capable of separating out…