Nothing more than compromise and bargaining

April 1, 2014

The meaning of the 'return of nuclear materials'

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/perspectives/news/20140401p2a00m0na004000c.html 

The Mainichi Shimbun ran an article in its March 25 morning edition headlined, "PM Abe declares Japan set to remove all Tokai nuclear materials, return them to U.S."

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the announcement at the Nuclear Security Summit 2014 in The Hague, during which the Ukrainian issue and the Japan-U.S.-South Korea summit talks drew particular attention. According to his statement, Japan is set to remove all nuclear materials from the Ibaraki Prefecture village of Tokai, where many nuclear facilities are concentrated, and transfer all of them to the United States.

It appears that Japan is willing to take the lead in returning radioactive substances, which could be a target of terrorists, to the United States. Japan's decision as a peace-loving country appears as if it has reassured its allies, but this is not the case.

Before reaching the decision, Tokyo and Washington had tough negotiations on the prevention of nuclear proliferation. What Abe announced is a product of compromise between the two countries and a result of their bargaining. Behind the accord is pessimism about the future of the management of nuclear substances that is contrary to an international agreement on the matter.

What did Japan and the United States agree on before Abe's announcement?

A research institute in Tokai will surrender highly enriched uranium and plutonium, which it wants to keep, to the United States. In return, Washington will continue to accept spent nuclear fuel from Japanese research reactors beyond 2019 -- when the United States was supposed to discontinue to do so -- over an indefinite period.

As a result of the bargaining, the United States, which has taken the initiative in reducing and controlling nuclear materials on a global scale, has saved face. Japan, for its part, can continue research on nuclear power by relieving concerns in Osaka, Kanagawa and Ibaraki prefectures, which host nuclear research facilities, that dangerous radioactive waste will keep accumulating within their boundaries.

"Tokai nuclear materials" refer to 0.5 tons of highly enriched uranium and plutonium that has accumulated at Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) in the village, enough to produce dozens of atomic bombs.

About 200 tons of plutonium have so far been generated at Japanese nuclear plants -- 45 tons of reprocessed plutonium, including that being stored in Britain and France, and 152 tons contained in spent nuclear fuel that has not been reprocessed yet -- enough to make 40,000 atomic bombs.

However, it is highly pure nuclear substances at research facilities that terrorists are likely to target because they could easily transform such substances into weapons. Therefore, nuclear materials in Tokai are subject to reductions and strict controls.

Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first person to advocate the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

"Atoms for Peace," he said in a speech at the United Nations in 1953. Since then, the United States has provided a large amount of uranium and plutonium for fuel and research purposes to its allies, including Japan. As a result, nuclear materials have ended up spreading throughout the world.

Since 2004, the United States has joined hands with Russia in recovering nuclear materials that have spread throughout the world.

Thanks to their efforts, the number of countries possessing certain amounts of highly enriched uranium and plutonium has been decreasing, but illegal transactions in nuclear substances, theft and losses have occurred frequently. As such, the world is more chaotic in terms of the management of radioactive substances.

At the Nuclear Security Summit's general meeting, Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif sat next to U.S. President Barack Obama.

Pakistan is not a party to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), and possesses nuclear arms. What makes matters worse is that terrorist attacks are rampant throughout its territory. Such being the case, the country is far from being able to return nuclear materials to the United States through negotiations.

The United States also has its own problems. It cannot work in harmony with Russia in managing nuclear substances. Washington needs to control nuclear materials constantly arriving in its territory while keeping an eye on the peaceful use of atomic power as well as nuclear weapons.

The transfer of uranium and plutonium in Tokai to the U.S. is nothing but a temporary political arrangement between the two governments. It will not reduce the total volume of nuclear substances on the globe.

While being fully aware of this, Japan is continuing to accelerate nuclear proliferation by promoting exports of nuclear power plants. Human beings are increasing the amount of nuclear materials by postponing a fundamental resolution on such contradictions to the future. (By Takao Yamada, Expert Senior Writer)

April 01, 2014(Mainichi Japan)