Japan considers nuclear research with France
THE GOVERNMENT is planning to draw up a road map this year for creating a working alternative to Monju, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s fast breeder nuclear reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, sources said.
The main element of the plan will likely be to continue technological development by joining the French government’s planned ASTRID fast reactor project, the sources said.
The government has apparently determined that partnering with France on researching the latest type of nuclear reactor will bring the idea closer to practical application.
Relevant Cabinet ministers met on Wednesday night to confirm plans for a “thorough overhaul” of policies related to Monju, the sources said.
Even if the government decides to decommission the Monju reactor, it intends to stick with its policy on the nuclear fuel cycle, which seeks to extract and reuse uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. In addition to ASTRID, the Joyo experimental reactor in Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture, was also considered as a replacement research base for Monju, the sources said. However, the Joyo site’s equipment is lacking, so it could only be used for basic research.
Teaming with France on the ASTRID project would send a clear message of support for the nuclear fuel cycle. The government also hopes to win the understanding of local governments in places such as Aomori Prefecture, which is home to several facilities involved in the nuclear fuel cycle.
Based on current planning, ASTRID would begin operating around 2030. The French government hopes to use revolutionary technology to create a new type of highly safe nuclear reactor. Compared to the Joyo experimental reactor and Monju, which was intended to establish power- generating technology, ASTRID would be a “demonstration reactor” that is seen as closer to practical implementation. Any progress made on ASTRID would bring things closer to an actual, working reactor.
At a press conference Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the meeting of Cabinet ministers concerned “would be held with the viewpoint that the government as a whole will share the vision” of the nuclear fuel cycle policy.
“Coordinating with local governments is extremely important. We will decide on our response after sincerely listening to the views of municipalities,” Suga added.
Among those attending the meeting was to be Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Hirokazu Matsuno and Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko. The government plans to create a new council chaired by Seko to study how to tackle developing a fast breeder reactor.
Meanwhile, Tsuruga Mayor Takanobu Fuchikami and others met with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda on Tuesday at the Prime Minster’s Office to argue against scrapping Monju. Tsuyoshi Takagi, a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker who represents the area, said Hagiuda told the local officials that the government would “decide while listening to local opinions” and that the matter would be discussed at the meeting of related Cabinet ministers.
Including the ASTRID project in the government’s road map to creating a fast nuclear reactor would demonstrate its commitment to its nuclear fuel cycle policy.
Fast reactors continue fission reactions without slowing the neutrons that are emitted when radioactive nuclear fuel undergoes nuclear fission. Among them, “breeder” reactors are designed to generate more nuclear fuel than they consume. No fast breeder reactor has yet been developed for practical use, but nations including Russia, China and India have research and development projects underway with the goal of more effectively using uranium resources.
ASTRID has a different structure than Monju, so it is unclear how the fruits of past research can be used. Other questions still need to be resolved, such as how Japan and France will share research costs. — WP-Bloomberg