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[For international release: February 28, 2007] [Word version: 76KB] Today the prime ministers of Japan and Russia are meeting in Tokyo. According to media reports, part of the negotiations will focus on a new nuclear agreement allowing Japanese nuclear material to be sent to Russia. It is planned that uranium extracted from spent nuclear fuel reprocessed in the UK and France will be enriched in Russia for use as nuclear fuel for Japanese nuclear power plants. Earlier this month, the Yomiuri Shimbun (1) and various Russian media (2)(3) reported that “Japan has entered into final negotiations that would see Russia enriching Japan’s uranium. It is clear that the Russian uranium…

Lessons the G8 Can Learn from Japan: the Nuclear Fuel Cycle is an Economic Failure Providing No Energy [Word Doc (US Letter size): 226kb] [Word Doc (A4 size): 234kb] For Immediate Release: 14 July 2006Contact: Philip White (CNIC) 03-5330-9520 Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan—-Japan has opportunistically jumped on President George Bush’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) bandwagon in the hope of aiding its troubled nuclear fuel cycle program and gaining recognition for Japan’s unique position as the only Non Nuclear Weapons State (NNWS) member of the Non Proliferation Treaty with access to the full nuclear fuel cycle. It is difficult to imagine, however, that Japan could play a significant role in…

10 July 2006Statement by Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center and Green Action [Word Doc (US Letter size): 255kb][Word Doc (A4 size): 253kb] Japan has opportunistically jumped on President George Bush’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) bandwagon. Just when doubts were being expressed about the proliferation dangers of separating plutonium at the Rokkasho reprocessing plant in Aomori Prefecture, GNEP was like a gift from Uncle George. The government is treating GNEP as a great opportunity to gain recognition of Japan’s unique position as the only Non Nuclear Weapons State (NNWS) member of the Non Proliferation Treaty with access to the full nuclear fuel cycle. Japan is the only NNWS with industrial scale…

10 July 2006Japan's nuclear fuel cycle program has been under development since 1956. Despite several trillion yen (tens of billions of dollars) of ratepayer and taxpayer money spent, the program fails to provide any electricity to the public. Japan's nuclear fuel cycle program is comprised of the development of fast breeder reactor technology, use of mixed (plutonium and uranium) oxide fuel in commercial nuclear power plants, and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. None of these have attained commercial-scale use. The Fast Breeder Reactor Program Japan's fast breeder reactor (FBR) program begun under Japan's Long-Term Program for Research, Development and Utilization of Nuclear Energy (LTP) was originally scheduled to attain commercialization…

[Translated from Japanese] [March 13, 2006] To: Mr. Toshihiro NikaiMinister of Economy, Trade and Industry As stated in the enclosed 9 March letter from Dr. Edwin Lyman (Union of Concerned Scientists) and Professor Frank von Hippel (Princeton University) to Aomori Governor Shingo Mimura, there are points that cannot be supported by facts in the explanation given by the Japanese Government to the six US Democratic members of Congress including Edward Markey, and to Aomori Prefecture. This concerns the international implications for nuclear proliferation of the Rokkasho reprocessing plant. I therefore request that you take the following action before beginning active tests at the plant: Provide a detailed technical account of…

[Translated from Japanese] [March 13, 2006] METI officials responded along the following lines to the demands of Dr. Kang and five Japanese organizations. They promised to consider providing a written response to demands 1 through 3. Response to 1: Mr. Shinichi Mizumoto, Planning Officer (responsible for international nuclear energy issues), Nuclear Energy Policy Division, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, METI: The MOX issue is only one aspect of the holistic measures which consist of safeguards, physical protection, etc. We object to it being taken up independently. Since precautions are taken to prevent theft, I cannot respond to the question regarding the different degree of concern between MOX and plutonium…

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…

(Unofficial translation by Green Action) This document analyses 8 areas concerning safety of MOX fuel use. It presents arguments of both anti and pro MOX sides, and gives Saga Prefecture’s conclusions. For all items, Saga Prefecture agrees with the pro MOX argument. The 8 areas: 1. Control of Reactor (1) Efficacy of Control Rods and Boron (2) Concerning Self-regulating characteristics (3) Characteristics of Output Distribution 2. Safety of the Fuel (1) Melting Point of Fuel (2) Internal Pressure of Fuel (Plutonium Spots) 3. Experience with MOX Fuel Performance (1) Experience concerning Plutonium Enrichment Levels and Burn Up 4. Radioactive Dose During Normal Operation (1) Worker Dose 5. Effects Due to…

PDF Version Comparison of 3 Japan Government/Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Decisions Regarding the Use of Plutonium Compiled: 3 February 2006 Compiled by Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center (CNIC), Green Action, and Greenpeace Japan 1997 2003 2006 Japanese government’s December 1997 Letter to the IAEA “Plutonium Utilization Plan of Japan” (INFCIRC/549/Add. 1 31 March 1998) Section 2, Enhancing the Transparency of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Program (English original) The nuclear fuel cycle is promoted based on the principle that plutonium beyond the amount required to implement the program is not to be held, i.e. the principle of no surplus plutonium. Nuclear materials are also strictly managed, so as not to give rise…

[Contact: Aileen Mioko Smith Tel: +81 90 3620 9251] 24 January 2006 (Kyoto, Japan)—The Japan Atomic Energy Commission headed by Shunsuke Kondo today approved Japanese utilities’ Plutonium Utilization Plan released earlier this month. Japanese NGOs lambasted as “fiction” the utilities’ fiscal 2005 and 2006 plans which say 1.6 tons of plutonium will be consumed in Japanese nuclear reactors as MOX (mixed plutonium uranium oxide) fuel. None of the nuclear power plants specified under the Plan has approval from local authorities to use the plutonium. Tokyo Electric which heads the Federation of Electric Power Companies could not name which plants would use the plutonium, yet says it will consume it. Nuclear…