Nuke Info Tokyo No. 118 (May/June 2007)

NPT PrepCom and the US-India Nuclear Deal
The Abolition 2000 AGM approved a statement to be handed to diplomats recommending that they challenge the US to show how the US-India nuclear deal can be reconciled with the NPT consensus position. The statement made clear that we believe the deal is inconsistent with the consensus position adopted at previous NPT Review Conferences and with UN Security Resolution 1172.

Rokkasho Update: Earthquake safety and criticality design flaws
On March 11th, during uranium/plutonium denitration tests, a second batch of uranium/plutonium solution was accidentally poured into a tray which had not been emptied of the previous batch and in April, deficiencies were discovered in the earthquake safety design of over ten types of equipment

Nuclear State and Industry: Bottomless Depths of Corruption
NISA has not demanded that reactors be shut down, nor has it suspended any licenses. With such lenient treatment as this, one can hardly expect that such problems will not arise in future.

Bilateral Nuclear Cooperation Agreements
According to media reports, the government wants to send to Russia uranium which was extracted from spent fuel reprocessed in the UK. It wants Russia to re-enrich this uranium for use in Japanese nuclear power plants.

2007 Electric Power Supply Plan and Nuclear Industry Developments
At the end of March the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy released the 2007 Electric Power Supply Plan. The Plan brings together the plans of all the electric power companies. However, it is quite divorced from reality and is a “plan” in name only.

Group Introduction
No to Radioactive Waste! Committee for a Prefectural OrdinanceNews Watch
—Mihama-3 criminal case finalized
—MHI and Areva agree on basic specs. for new reactor
—Uranium exceeding nuclear limit handled at nuclear fuel plant
—Application for clearance for waste from Tokai-1
—Residents of Toyo Town reject high-level waste dump
—MHI becomes core FBR developer
—Shake at Shika 1.9 times greater than predicted
—Increased uranium imports from Kazakhstan