US-Japan Nuclear Agreement Extension Is Not Cause for Relief

Published in Kyoto Shimbun
(Japan) on 23 January 2017
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Fatuma Muhamed. Edited by Margaret Dalzell.
This year marks 30 years since America entered a nuclear cooperation deal with Japan, which is set to expire this July. Under this pact, Japan, a country that cannot possess nuclear weapons, is permitted to repurpose spent nuclear fuel; with its renewal, enterprises that depend on the nuclear fuel cycle can continue civilian operations.

With the renewal, the Japanese government, which wanted to continue this nuclear policy, can rest easy — but is that really right?

This nuclear fuel cycle policy, in which plutonium is extracted from spent nuclear fuel and reused, is already failing. Either Japan or America can end the agreement with six months' notice, so it would not be inappropriate to call this arrangement unstable. Isn't it time for Japan to rethink its policy?

Since the end of World War II, America has provided all of Japan's nuclear fuel and technology. The nuclear treaty, signed in 1988, allows America to closely monitor Japan's nuclear activities; it also ensures America can license Japan's nuclear technology and materials for military use.

The treaty was signed during the Reagan era, allowing Japan the right to recycle spent nuclear fuel — and it also triggered protests from those concerned about nuclear proliferation.

Some current members of the American Congress also share these concerns. After all, Japan currently holds around 47 tons of plutonium, a number that stands out when compared to other nations. Even the United Nations Security Council has pointed this out: “Does Japan actually have nuclear weapons?” “Isn't such preferential treatment unfair?”

The current situation is all due to the deadlock that is the nuclear fuel cycle.

The Monju nuclear reactor, which was a fast-breeder reactor designed to produce more plutonium than it consumed, was decommissioned, with future plans to proceed looking unlikely.

The issue of spent nuclear fuel cannot be resolved with the usual method of burning plutonium in plutonium-thermal reactors. The Japanese government is also looking at developing fast reactors with France, but the feasibility of this plan is still unclear.

Plans to build a reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori are already 20 years behind schedule. Japan should withdraw its participation from the nuclear fuel cycle, outsourcing surplus plutonium to the United Kingdom and France and burying it in American facilities. The spent fuel currently in Aomori is also a pressing concern. These are all difficult truths that the government and energy corporations will eventually have to face. I'd like to see the government take responsibility for solving these issues, rather than simply settling for the renewal of this agreement.


 今年7月に30年の満期を迎える日米原子力協定の延長が確実になった。
 核兵器保有国でない日本は、この協定で原発の使用済み核燃料の再処理を認められてきた。延長によって、核燃料サイクル事業を今後も続けることが
できる。
 これまで通りの原子力政策を続けたい日本政府は安堵(あんど)したところだろう。それでいいのだろうか。
 再処理で抽出したプルトニウムを再び使う核燃サイクルは事実上、破綻している。
 協定は今後、日米どちらかの通告で半年後に終了する。原子力開発はむしろ不安定になったという指摘もある。
 再処理や核燃サイクルを含めた原子力政策の根本的な見直しが、いよいよ迫られているといえないか。
 日本の原発技術や燃料は戦後、すべて米国から提供されてきた。米国は技術供与に際し、軍事転用を防ぐ協定を結んでいる。
 1988年に締結された日米原子力協定も、日本の核技術や核物質を米国が広く監視する内容だ。
 当時の米レーガン政権には、核兵器保有国でない日本に再処理の権利を与えることについて、核拡散の懸念から異論があった。
 同様の懸念は現在も米議会にある。日本が約47トンのプルトニウムをため込んでいるからだ。
 各国の中でも突出した数字だ。国連の会議などでは「日本は核兵器を持つのか」「特別扱いは不平等だ」と指摘されている。
 現状を招いた原因は、核燃サイクルの行き詰まりである。
 理論上は使った以上のプルトニウムを生み出す高速増殖炉が核燃サイクルの柱だが、原型炉「もんじゅ」の廃炉が決まり、前に進めることは不可能になっている。
 プルトニウムを通常の原子炉で燃やすプルサーマル発電では使用済み核燃料の問題は解決できない。政府はフランスの企業との高速炉開発も目指すが、実現性は見通せない。
 青森県六ケ所村の再処理工場の完成も20年遅れている。
 核燃サイクルからは撤退すべきだ。
 余剰プルトニウムについては、委託先の英仏への譲渡、米国の施設への埋設も検討すべきだろう。
 青森県にある使用済み燃料の扱いをどうするかも重い課題だ。
 いずれも政府や電力各社にとっては「不都合な真実」だ。協定の延長で安心せず、政府の責任で解決に乗り出してほしい。
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