ID :
195268
Fri, 07/15/2011 - 19:25
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/195268
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Japan may stop Monju fast-breeder reactor project
TOKYO, July 15 Kyodo -
Japan's development of the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor may be halted in the wake of the ongoing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, science minister Yoshiaki Takaki suggested Friday.
Takaki told a news conference that future development of the reactor is ''one issue'' to be determined when the government reviews Japan's stance on nuclear power.
''It's not as simple as whether to scrap or continue but recognizing that a conclusion will be drawn'' after debating the country's ''overall energy policy,'' he said.
The remarks came after Prime Minister Naoto Kan said this week that Japan will review its energy policy from scratch and try to gradually reduce its dependence on nuclear power.
Unlike regular reactors fueled by uranium, the Monju reactor, located in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, uses plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel, or MOX, made from spent nuclear fuel.
Takaki's latest comments caused confusion, especially among local officials in the central Japan prefecture.
Fukui Gov. Issei Nishikawa telephoned Takaki in protest for making such remarks without prior consultation with local authorities.
In his telephone conversation with Nishikawa, Takaki clarified the remarks he made at the news conference and said he ''would not say such a thing without listening to what the local people have to say,'' according to the governor.
In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference that the government has not decided anything regarding what to do with the Monju reactor, operated by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.
The top government spokesman said ''the current stage'' entails examining the future role of nuclear energy in ''a comprehensive manner'' based on what has happened at the radiation-spewing Fukushima plant, crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The Monju reactor first achieved criticality in 1994 but was shut down due to a serious accident involving a leak of sodium coolant and a resulting fire in 1995.
The fast-breeder reactor resumed operations in May 2010 after being idled for 14 years and five months, but the launch of full operations was delayed again as a device in the reactor accidentally fell inside the vessel in August that year. The agency removed the device in June.
Four months on from the world's worst nuclear accident in 25 years at the Fukushima plant, in the fiscal 2011 white paper on science and technology approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, the government deleted a sentence used the previous year stating that Japan will establish a fast-breeder reactor.
Japan's development of the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor may be halted in the wake of the ongoing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, science minister Yoshiaki Takaki suggested Friday.
Takaki told a news conference that future development of the reactor is ''one issue'' to be determined when the government reviews Japan's stance on nuclear power.
''It's not as simple as whether to scrap or continue but recognizing that a conclusion will be drawn'' after debating the country's ''overall energy policy,'' he said.
The remarks came after Prime Minister Naoto Kan said this week that Japan will review its energy policy from scratch and try to gradually reduce its dependence on nuclear power.
Unlike regular reactors fueled by uranium, the Monju reactor, located in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, uses plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel, or MOX, made from spent nuclear fuel.
Takaki's latest comments caused confusion, especially among local officials in the central Japan prefecture.
Fukui Gov. Issei Nishikawa telephoned Takaki in protest for making such remarks without prior consultation with local authorities.
In his telephone conversation with Nishikawa, Takaki clarified the remarks he made at the news conference and said he ''would not say such a thing without listening to what the local people have to say,'' according to the governor.
In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference that the government has not decided anything regarding what to do with the Monju reactor, operated by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.
The top government spokesman said ''the current stage'' entails examining the future role of nuclear energy in ''a comprehensive manner'' based on what has happened at the radiation-spewing Fukushima plant, crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The Monju reactor first achieved criticality in 1994 but was shut down due to a serious accident involving a leak of sodium coolant and a resulting fire in 1995.
The fast-breeder reactor resumed operations in May 2010 after being idled for 14 years and five months, but the launch of full operations was delayed again as a device in the reactor accidentally fell inside the vessel in August that year. The agency removed the device in June.
Four months on from the world's worst nuclear accident in 25 years at the Fukushima plant, in the fiscal 2011 white paper on science and technology approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, the government deleted a sentence used the previous year stating that Japan will establish a fast-breeder reactor.
