Japan White Paper Highlights Importance of Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Tokyo, June 23 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government released a nuclear energy white paper on Tuesday, highlighting the importance of the nuclear fuel cycle in enhancing energy security and reducing reliance on foreign resources amid concerns about the situation in the Middle East. In the white paper, the Atomic Energy Commission of the Cabinet Office said that the fuel cycle, in which spent nuclear fuel is reused, is significant for using nuclear power in the long term. The white paper notes the need to complete fuel reprocessing and uranium-plutonium mixed oxide, or MOX, fuel plants in the northeastern village of Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, by the end of fiscal 2026 and during fiscal 2027, respectively. The completion of the reprocessing plant has been postponed 27 times, and a final disposal site for nuclear waste has yet to be determined. In addition, it calls for considering a long-term strategy that includes the use of next-generation reactors. According to the white paper, 1,000 kilograms of spent fuel can be reprocessed into 100 kilograms of MOX fuel and 130 kilograms of recovered uranium fuel. The white paper also addresses the falsification of earthquake prediction data at Chubu Electric Power Co.’s Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, which came to light in January. It stresses the necessity of not covering up inconvenient information. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]