Japan's management of plutonium

March 26, 2014

Abe defends Japan's management of weapons-grade plutonium

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140326p2g00m0dm055000c.html 

THE HAGUE (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday defended Japan's management of nuclear materials including weapons-grade plutonium, dismissing concern that a massive amount of nuclear substances could be used for non-civilian purposes.

"The International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded that all the plutonium in Japan is for peaceful purposes under its safeguards," Abe told a press conference on the final day of the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague.

"We voluntarily have disclosed information about our management of plutonium and the information is more detailed than advised in international guidelines," he said.

In responding to a question on why Japan retains as much as 9 tons of plutonium, Abe said, "We made it very clear this time that we will stick to the principle of having no plutonium that does not have a specified use."

According to the governmental Japan Atomic Energy Commission, Japan retains 9 tons of plutonium in domestic facilities and 35 tons of plutonium in Britain and France.

During the summit in the Dutch city, Japan and the United States announced an agreement in which Tokyo will return hundreds of kilograms of highly enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium that U.S. President Barack Obama said would be "enough for a dozen nuclear weapons."

The materials, provided by the United States for research during the Cold War era, are kept in a research facility in Tokaimura, northeast of Tokyo.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it "welcomes" Japan's agreement with the United States, describing it as the first step in the right direction.

Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, however, called for further action, saying, "Japan still stockpiles other sensitive nuclear materials, which far exceed its actual normal needs." China earlier expressed concern that Japan's nuclear stockpile poses a proliferation risk as it could be used for weapons.

Japan reached the agreement with the United States as part of efforts to reduce global stockpiles of nuclear materials, a main theme of the biennial summit which was launched in 2010 at the initiative of Obama.

Obama described Japan's decision to reduce its stock of nuclear materials as "a major commitment" during a joint press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to wrap up the summit.

Abe pointed to Japan's measures against possible nuclear terrorism such as round-the-clock police guard at atomic power plants and regular deployments of Coast Guard vessels in waters near nuclear plants, which are typically built near the coast.

March 26, 2014(Mainichi Japan)