TOKYOMarch/April 2006 NUKECitizens' Nuclear INFO Information Center No. 111 3F Kotobuki Bldg., 1-58-15, Higashi-nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0003, JAPAN URL: http://cnic.jp/english/ e-mail :
[email protected] Rokkasho: active tests set to begin any day Table 1 1956 Atomic Energy Commission of Japan adopts a policy of reprocessing spent nuclear fuel and extracting plutonium. 1971 Construction commences at Tokai reprocessing facility. 1977 President Carter reverses his opposition to Japanese reprocessing. 1981 Tokai reprocessing facility commences operations. 1985 The Governor of Aomori and the Mayor of Rokkasho accept a request from the Federation of Electric Power Sampling of beach sand (see article on page 3) Companies to establish a reprocessing (Photo by Shigeru Ogasawara) plant at Rokkasho. ctive tests at the Rokkasho reprocessing 1993 Construction of the Rokkasho plant are expected to commence very reprocessing plant commences. soon. For the first time, plutonium will 2001 Construction of the Rokkasho Abe separated from spent fuel at Rokkasho. Of reprocessing plant is completed. course, Japan has been separating plutonium at 2003 Chemical trials are completed (December) (radioactive substances not used). the Tokai facility since 1981, but Rokkasho will 2004 Uranium tests begin (using depleted be Japan's first industrial-scale reprocessing plant. (December) uranium). Indeed it will be the first such plant outside the 2006 Uranium tests are completed. nuclear weapons states, as defined in the Non- (January) Proliferation Treaty (NPT). India has reprocessing 2006 (soon) Active tests are due to begin (using facilities, but it is outside the NPT. Of course, this spent fuel). does not excuse India, but the international legal 2007 Rokkasho reprocessing plant is due to implications are different for Japan.