Japan’s “Separated” Plutonium Stockpile Increases to 43 Tons

Text of report in English by Japanese news agency Kyodo

Tokyo, 6 September: Japan’s stockpile of plutonium extracted and separated from spent nuclear fuel increased to 43.1 tons as of the end of 2004, up 2.5 tons from the previous year, the government reported to the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan on Tuesday [6 September].

Most of the increase was from the reprocessing of Japan’s spent nuclear fuel in Britain. Of the total amount, 37.4 tons were stored overseas. Japan has also asked France to reprocess its spent fuel.

Japan plans to use the reprocessed plutonium to produce plutonium- uranium mixed oxide fuel for use in plutonium-thermal nuclear power plants in the future, officials of the science and industry ministries said.

About 5.7 tons of separated plutonium are stored as raw materials and fuel domestically, up 0.2 ton from reprocessing in Japan. It is stored at places including a research facility of the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture, and the institute’s Monju fast-breeder reactor complex in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, the officials said.

Aside from the separated plutonium, Japan also possesses an estimated 113 tons of plutonium in spent nuclear fuel not yet reprocessed, according to the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry and the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry.