Winter 1999 No.24 ● Opinion Environmental Measures Go beyond National Interests

● Proposal Framework Convention on Elimination of Nuclear Weapons Ryukichi Imai

● CNFC Report Saudi Arabia's Khafji Oil Field and La Hague Reprocessing Plant in France - Japan's Lifelines

● Nourriture -6 Eating Habits in My New World Yuji Tsushima

● Lecture 10 Watch Them! - You Can See Hands via Satellites Sakata Toshibumi

● Pluto 22 The Buddhabali Shigeru Gotoh

● Views of Nuclear Power Stations Beautiful Mountains - Excellent Water - Fabulous Local Products on the Roads of Wakasa -- And NPSs along the Scenic Shores

● Letter Moscow at the End of 1998 Norihiko Yokoyama

● Info-Clip Major Nuclear Developments in Japan

● Postscript

Painting by Van Gogh "The Auvers Church" France, while on one hand carefully retaining its cultural heritage as a part of daily life, at the same time advances the cutting edge of peaceful uses of nuclear energy and other advanced technologies, doing its best to prevent global warming, etc.

Plutonium Winter No.24

Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Juzen Bldg.,Room 801, 2-9-6, Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100, Japan TEL : 03-3591-2081 FAX : 03-3591-2088

Publisher

Takashi Mukaibo

Executive Editor

Shigeru Gotoh

Editorial Office

Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Date of Issue: March 8, 1999

Mar. 23, 1999 Copyright (C) 1999 Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle Opinion

Environmental Measures Go beyond National Interests

In Germany, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) won in the general election for seats in the Bundestag against the Christian Democratic Union/the Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) in September 1998, and established a new coalition government with the Green Party. As part of the energy policies stated by this government, the both parties agreed to phase out nuclear power, which currently accounts for about 30% of the electricity generated in Germany.

According to the coalition agreement, Germany will place priority on recyclable energy and energy saving as a replacement for nuclear power. The new government will decide on a new energy policy which will include the termination of the use of nuclear power and the generation of nuclear waste within one year based on discussions with electric companies, and through a government initiative introduce a bill in the Bundestag to abolish nuclear power.

In Sweden as well as in Germany, elections were held for legislative seats in September. Although the ruling Social Democratic Party (SDP) lost a considerable number of seats, it managed to win enough seats to remain as the top party in the Swedish legislature. This result confirms that the Swedish government's decision to close down nuclear power stations will remain unchanged.

These are examples of the politically negative view towards nuclear power within the EU zone. There are 15 member nations in the EU, and their overall goal is to reduce by 8% the amount of greenhouse emission gases by year 2010 using 1990 levels as the baseline. Considering the actual situation in the EU zone, where nuclear power accounts for about 35% of all electricity generation, it seems to be more realistic to expect that it will become far more difficult to attain this goal of reducing greenhouse emission gases when some member countries discontinue their programs of nuclear power.

It is easy to imagine the future population explosion in the world, and human beings facing problems that we have never experienced before. Energy consumption and global warming are the two most typically cited issues arising from this population explosion.

According to calculations by the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry of Japan, CO2 emissions for the various energy sources per 0.001 MWh of electric power in terms of carbon are: coal generates 270g of carbon emissions, oil 200g, natural gas 178g, wave power 25g, solar power 16g, wind power 10g, nuclear power 3 to 6g, and hydro power 5g. It is certain that nuclear power contributes to the reduction of greenhouse emission gases at present. Is it realistically possible to find an alternative energy source that is as realistic and as environment-friendly as nuclear power to take over when they easily close down the nuclear power stations based on the ideological statement that nuclear power is dangerous? This is not a question of making one choice from among nuclear energy, new energy, and energy savings. What is needed is the mobilization of all environment-friendly energy resources, together with greater knowledge and technology.

In order for every country to secure stable sources of energy, decisions should be made based on the differing conditions in each nation with respect to economics, technology, and resources; war should not be applied as a means to that end. Each country should look at its own resources and technology, and make the best and most realistic choices. At the same time however, we at the gate of the 21st century must consider the "global benefit" which goes beyond the benefit of any one country or any one race, instead of determining our policies based on the beliefs of any one political party, the emotions of one nation's citizens, or the interests of one single nation, or else the earth's environment will see no improvement. This is especially true of the advanced nations.

All religions talk about the importance of loving strangers and neighbors. The human beings, whose population on this planet in the 21st century will be double of that today, is now facing the question of how to help not only the tribe or race to which each belongs, but to also help each other, respecting the cultures and civilizations of other races.

We have entered an era where decisions on future energy policies will depend on our views of how to protect the earth as a whole, and how we envision each culture, each civilization, and each society should be, as well as the above-mentioned dimension of people's hearts and minds. This is not a time when people should be guided by how the energy is supplied or whether the economy will develop as it used to. Therefore, in addition to those who are in energy-related businesses, politicians, and the administrators who have heretofore lead the formation of energy policies will find it necessary to obtain cooperation from religious figures, philosophers, social psychologists, historians, folklorists and others.

Time will not wait for us if we delay in taking measures due to a lack of consensusns, as was obserbed at COP4.

Executive Editor

[Back to No.24 Contents]

Mar. 23 1999 Copyright (C) 1999 Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle Proposal

Framework Convention on Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

Ryukichi Imai

Professor, Kyorin University

Nuclear Warheads Reduction to Two Thousand Each

Much has been said and written about the elimination of nuclear weapons, but there are not many visible signs that the world is rushing in that direction. Rather, there seem to be two opposing positions. Some nations, represented by the United States, support the idea of "the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons (but not in the foreseeable future or within a defined time limit)." Other nations, including notably India, argue for the "immediate elimination of all the nuclear weapons within a given time." The country that conducted nuclear tests in the Pokhran desert in May 1998 and that has taken the position that these tests were necessary to assure national security, and the country that denounced the tests in the name of nuclear nonproliferation, seem to have reversed their positions.

Trying to eliminate nuclear weapons is a difficult and complicated matter, and the history of negotiations has been correspondingly difficult and confused. The United States and Russia have reached agreement on two Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties (START I and II) and have agreed to reduce long-range strategic missile warheads to between 3,000 and 3,500 by the end of the year 2007. Assessment of the technology and management issues involved indicates that it would be reasonable for the two countries to negotiate further reductions to 2,000 warheads each by the year 2010.

Discussions between the US and Russia on safe and secure methods for reducing 10,000 or more long- range (strategic) and short range (tactical) warheads to the target numbers are continuing, and both nations are cooperating in the practical measures necessary. On the other hand, however, neither seems inclined, at least at the moment, to reduce the number of warheads to less than 2,000. Rather, they seem to be concentrating their efforts on how, in technical and other ways, to maintain the effectiveness and operational readiness of these weapons. Both seem determined to hold on to the rights accorded them under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), while at the same time they denounce the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests on the basis of that treaty. This is exactly the point India is trying to make. If the United States and Russia would agree to set a time limit for eliminating all their nuclear weapons, India would do likewise. The debate has been going on in many different formats in many different forums ever since 1968 when the NPT was first signed. When the debate is carried on using abstract words and expressions, repeating the same arguments a million times will not produce meaningful results.

On the other hand, if we look back at the history of nuclear arms control and disarmament negotiations, and in particular think of the time fifteen years ago when the Russians and the Americans were conducting the three phases talks in Geneva, on strategic, medium range and space nuclear weapons, it would have been unimaginable then that they would be talking in the future about possibly setting limits on warheads at 2,000. In 1984, the two countries together had a total of about 60,000 warheads, and this reached a peak of 69,000 in 1986. That number seemed too many even then, and both countries were feeling economic and other pressures from producing excessive numbers of nuclear weapons. Even so, neither the White House nor the Kremlin, and neither of the negotiating teams, could have imagined that just around the corner, agreement would be reached on reducing warheads by an order of magnitude. This may be evidence simply that nuclear arms control negotiations require patience and perseverance, and that unexpected results may in the end be achieved. One factor that made things easier was the framework created by the negotiating styles of President Ronald Reagan and Party Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, which opened the way for the two countries to contemplate a target such as "2,000 warheads each."

Creation of a World-Wide Framework

Both Reagan and Gorbachev have left the stage, and the world after the Cold War seems to be in need of some new framework in order that nuclear arms control may move forward. My proposal is that first we should create a framework convention to establish the principle that nuclear weapons are to be eliminated, but without mentioning time limits or any other related numbers. I mentioned this proposal at the UN Conference on Disarmament Issues that was held in Nagasaki in November 1998, using my allocation of fifteen minutes to try to describe the processes through which nuclear warheads can be dismantled safely, but also referring to an additional proposal that such details could be attached as a set of protocols.

There are a number of examples among international agreements on environmental subjects of framework conventions that have protocols with detailed figures attached. Protection of the ozone layer under the Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol is one. The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 on climatic change stipulated some numbers as targets for reduction of emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and this was possible because the Framework Convention had been adopted at the 1992 UN Environmental Conference in Rio de Janeiro. At the Buenos Aires meeting in November 1998, however, it was not possible to include any obligations that would be binding on the developing countries. It will still take some time before there will be firm agreement on how the six kinds of gas can be measured, or in what manner the emission rights may be internationally traded. Nevertheless, because there has been prior agreement in the form of the framework convention, it will be possible to maintain the continuity of the negotiations, and to adopt further changes reflecting advances in technology or improvement in calculation model for the earth temperature. Similarly, if a framework convention on the elimination of nuclear weapon were to be adopted, it could be used as the continuing basis for negotiations, and adding the results of later negotiations as protocols may enable us, in fifteen or twenty years' time, to reach a point that today looks impossible or extremely unlikely.

The Preamble to the Framework Convention would include the essence of such understandings about process, and would clarify the fundamental proposition that nuclear weapons should be eliminated from the earth (without saying when or through what process), and that by joining this convention, as many countries of the world as possible will continue their efforts to achieve this aim. It could include statements such as:

● Based on the recognition that tremendous destructive power of nuclear weapons may lead to the destruction of human civilization and environment;

● Based also on the understanding that after the end of East-West confrontation, there is no longer any country that feels the need to maintain a large nuclear arsenal;

● Attentive to the arguments that the existing distribution of nuclear warheads around the world forms some sort of balance of terror, the immediate and abrupt change of which may lead to unnecessary international confusion;

● Realizing that removal of nuclear warheads from their delivery systems and their dismantlement requires considerable time and special care; and

● Being aware of the claim that until such time as nuclear warheads are dismantled, the existing warheads need to be held and maintained safely, and that this requires existence of a certain level of weapons industry.

These are rough and simple examples, and of course, need to be discussed and refined into careful language. The world community is well accustomed to giving the necessary appropriate attention and to working together in drafting documents for multilateral disarmament processes.

The main text of the Convention would simply state that "nuclear warheads will be eliminated," and that "the necessary details will be worked out in additional protocols, which will be binding only on those parties who ratify the said protocols." It would require twelve parties to convene a conference to discuss a protocol (in order to make the process simpler), the convention would remain in effect without any time limit, and any revision would require two-thirds majority. It is not desirable to convene a multilateral conference very often, and it may prove to be more practical for such meetings to be held for a period of one week during the UN General Assembly when the First Committee is meeting.

Countries which are not parties to the NPT or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) should be willing to join this convention, so mention of either in the main text should be avoided. Issues like "no first use" and "negative security assurances" should be included, and there may be ways to refer to them as a part of the protocol arrangements. This way of handling the issues may be evaluated in the following examples of protocols, which are presented for your consideration.

Some Examples of Possible Protocols Protocol 1

This will refer to the START treaties between the United States and the former Soviet Union and enumerate the means that are under consideration for attaining the goals of the treaties. The following examples from the Nunn/Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program may be considered.

● Procedures for removing nuclear warheads from missiles, etc;

● Confirmation of inventories of nuclear warheads;

● Safe transportation of nuclear warheads and confirmation of inventory;

● Location and methods of dismantling nuclear warheads;

● Safekeeping and criticality safety during dismantling;

● Disposal of plutonium and highly enriched uranium from the warheads;

● Providing non-weapon related jobs for scientists and engineers;

● Costs involved and an international schedule for sharing them;

● Nuclear material controls and verification;

● Special attention toward nonproliferation of materials and technology;

● Decontamination of radioactivity.

A considerable amount of information concerning the items mentioned above is already available in the public domain. By having the US and FSU record the items in a protocol document will give world- wide recognition to the nuclear warhead reduction process, while demonstrating that to realize such reductions requires an enormous amount of practical action.

Protocol 2

The names, types and numbers of warheads and missiles to be retained and deployed by the US and FSU under START III should be spelled out. In the United States it is understood that Minuteman-III and Trident-D-5 missiles will be retained, while it has been reported in publications in the US and the UK that Russia will retain SS-25, SS-27 and SS-NX-28 missiles. Since knowledge about numbers and types of missiles and warheads is widespread and to some extent was quite public even during the Cold War, it is desirable that they be listed in a separate protocol. Further, because the START treaties are not very clear about the treatment of spares, or about what tactical weapons are held in reserve, these also should be spelled out in this protocol.

Protocol 3

The NPT and the CTBT do not include any definition of nuclear weapons and nuclear explosive devices. This causes various problems, including uncertainty, due to the limits of verification technology, about what constitutes or does not constitute a nuclear explosion. The nuclear tests that India and Pakistan reported they had carried out were performed in unfamiliar terrain, and have produced the situation that the rest of the world has been unable to verify exactly what happened, because seismic methods were unable to detect all the explosions reported, so there is some question about whether several of the tests failed.

If a series of research and development experiments carried out in the United States by institutions (such as the National Ignition Facility) and subcritical implosions, which reportedly cost $4.5 billion annually, were determined not to be nuclear explosions, due technical explanations will be required.

It will be useful to go back to the NPT as a starting point and convene a group of experts to work on the definition of nuclear explosion.

Protocol 4

The Conference on Disarmament in Geneva has already taken up the issue of fissile cut-offs, and further discussion is avoided here. It would be desirable to have the outcome of the Geneva considerations as a protocol in this Framework Convention.

Protocol 5

IAEA safeguards are intended to verify that there has been no diversion of material from a peaceful nuclear fuel cycle for military purposes. As may be discussed in relation to Protocols 1 and 4, the basic technology involved in containment and surveillance, the technology for determining whether quantities of materials balance as they should, and other methods of accounting for nuclear materials can be very useful for statistical and other analysis of the nuclear warhead dismantling processes, for disposal of the related material, or in the handling of cut-off procedures. It would serve the purposes of verification to have such methods of material accountancy, together with procedures for physical protection of nuclear material, described in a separate protocol.

Verification procedures related to the CTBT, as well as verification procedures related to nuclear warheads would be better handled by a small and effective organization separate from the IAEA.

Protocol 6

Plutonium obtained from the reprocessing of spent fuel from ordinary light water reactors contains Pu- 239 isotope in the range of 60 percent and is called reactor-grade plutonium; plutonium from the dedicated reactors (such as Hanford in US, Krasnoyarsk in Russia, or Nyongbyon in DPRK) is termed weapons-grade plutonium and has Pu-239 isotopes in the range of 93 percent or more. The United States claims that reactor-grade plutonium can be used for nuclear weapons, but refuses to give any technical explanation of how this can be done. Since light water reactors are expected to be built in large numbers in Asia and other parts of the world, the uncertainty created by this US claim is very disturbing for the future of the nuclear fuel cycle. It is important to have the distinction clarified, with sufficient technical explanation, in the form of a protocol.

Possible Initiative by Japan for the Framework Convention

Japan is the only country to have experienced attack by nuclear weapons, at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This may be why Japan has firmly stuck to statements about observing the "Three Non-Nuclear Principles," and why its people focus on Japan having been "only country to have experienced nuclear attack." It may be that there is a tendency to give emphasis to these verbal expressions of Japan's feeling about nuclear issues rather than to trying to take the lead in practical actions that will bring about a nuclear-free world. Instead of dwelling on the different stances taken by different countries during the Cold War, it may be more useful for Japan to take this opportunity to follow up the proposal made in this paper and ask for the cooperation of other interested nations in drafting a workable and acceptable framework convention.

It is from this standpoint that I first raised this concept in Nagasaki. Japan has taken up where the Canberra Commission left off in 1996, and the deliberations of the Tokyo Forum began in the summer of 1998. Efforts to create a workable framework convention such as I have proposed would sit very well with the nonproliferation and elimination of nuclear weapons purposes of the Tokyo Forum. As one of those who initiated the proposal that has resulted in the setting up of the Tokyo Forum, I take this opportunity to present this idea for your consideration.

(Ryukichi Imai is a Former Ambassador, Conference on Disarmament, Geneva and a Director at the Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle.)

Please send readers' opinions on these proposals to the adress given below: Attention : Prof. Ryukichi Imai Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Juzen Bldg., Room 801 2-9-6, Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0014, Japan

E-mail：[email protected]

[Back to No.24 Contents]

Mar. 23 1999 Copyright (C) 1999 Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle CNFC Report

Saudi Arabia's Khafji Oil Field and La Hague Reprocessing Plant in France - Japan's Lifelines

For a stable supply of energy and energy security for Japan, oil and nuclear energy are indispensable. The Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle (CNFC) visited both the Khafji Oil Field operated by Arabian Oil Co., Ltd., which was one of the pioneers of independent crude oil developers, and the La Hague Reprocessing Plant run by COGEMA, a world leader in nuclear fuel reprocessing. Our members on this research trip were Shigeru Gotoh, a director of CNFC and a former member of the House of Representatives, Akihiro Ohata, a director and a member of the House of Representatives, and two researchers from CNFC.

The following is a summary report on their research.

(Editor)

Japan's Largest Independent Crude Oil Developer

The Khafji oil field operated by Arabian Oil Co. faces the Persian Gulf at its northern end, in the eastern sector of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This area was originally a neutral zone dividing Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, but became part of the territory of Saudi Arabia when the neutral zone was divided between the two nations in the north and south.

The rights to and interest in this oil field was acquired by Petroleum Trading Co., Ltd., which was succeeded by the Arabian Oil Co., Ltd. which was established in 1958. In February 1960, a large oil field was discovered during the excavations for the first oil well. The oil field was named the Khafji Oil Field, and shipment of crude oil using a temporary shipping facility began in March 1961. In July 1962, the following year, a permanent facility for oil production and shipping was completed.

Khafji Oil Field (from a brochure at the Arabian Oil Co.)

Today, the Khafji Oil Field produces 300,000 barrels per day (1 barrel = 159 litters) of crude oil. This amounts to 5% of all crude oil consumed in Japan, and makes the concern the largest-scale independent crude oil developer supplying Japan. Currently, 70% of the crude oil from the Khafji Oil Field is exported to Japan, with the rest going to Brazil, Taiwan, and Korea. In 1963, the Hout Oil Field was found to the north of the Khafji Oil Field and that field is producing crude oil at a daily production level of 50,000 barrels, which is comparatively small.

Khafji Oil Field Is Still Using Artesian Production After 37 Years

During this visit, the members observed and researched both the onshore facilities and the offshore oil extracting facilities. Security was very tight throughout the facilities, with security guards from Arabian Oil and the Coast Guard stationed at every guard office 24 hours a day.

We started our observation with the onshore facility. This facility receives crude oil from the offshore oilrig, and stores the oil in tanks after the oil goes through a gas separator and desalination equipment. When shipping the crude oil, it is then sent through the shipping pump to the sea berth, from which it is sent to the oil tankers.

There are a total of 21 crude storage tanks and the overall site capacity is 7.67 million barrels. The gas produced by the gas separator is used as fuel for the gas turbine generator, and the electricity generated is transmitted to living quarters of the oil field workers situated next to the facility.

We flew by helicopter for twenty minutes to reach the offshore facility. There are a total of 200 oil wells including those of the Hout Oil Field in the north. Actual oil layers lie between 30-40 meters and 1,500-2,800 meters deep below sea level, but the pressure on the oil wells is extremely high, at 500-600 psi (35-42 kg/cm2) on the average, and 800 psi (56kg/cm2) at tops, which results in the propulsion of crude oil to the surface even now.

That pressure has been reduced to about 120 psi (12kg/cm2), and the oil now is sent to the land facility 43 kilometers away, after being treated on the site using the gas separator and other equipment.

Oil extraction at the offshore facility continues 24 hours a day on a three-shift basis, and the workers travel to and from the work by helicopters. There was no Japanese worker but some Japanese participate in important operations concerning quality management such as sampling. About 120 Japanese in total are stationed at these facilities including management.

Oil Extraction Is Possible for 30 More Years

Oil extraction at the Khafji Oil Field started in 1960, and 37 years have passed since then. Annual oil yields are 100 million barrels, meaning this field has yielded 3.7 billion barrels to date. As the initial estimated amount of oil reserves here was 8 billion barrels, more than half of it still remains and the extraction may continue for 30 years more.

In late February of the year 2000, the Arabian Oil Company will renew their contract with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They said that they were doing their best to obtain the renewal of the contract so as to preserve the important opportunity for independent crude oil development for Japan.

For just a note, the price of crude oil rose to more than 30 dollars per barrel following the second oil crisis, but has been falling since and the recent price is about 11 dollars. Development projects are not proceeding dynamically because Saudi Arabia must not allow excessive dependence on oil dollars. Their government seems to expect Japan not only to import oil, but also to establish a stronger cooperative relationship with them in various areas.

Japan and France Are Good Old Friends in Nuclear Cooperation

Today, there are 59 operable nuclear power stations in France and they supply 78% of all electricity used in that nation. This has been promoted by Electricite de France (EDF), which is run by the state, and COGEMA, which is in charge of various services for nuclear fuel recycling.

The La Hague Reprocessing Plant which we visited this time was not only important as a core facility for the company, but was also closely related to Japan, as it had been receiving spent fuels from Japan for reprocessing for many years.

La Hague Reprocessing Plant (from a brochure at the COGEMA)

The La Hague Reprocessing Plant of COGEMA is at the tip of the Cotentin Peninsula in the province of Manche, in the Basse Normandie district in northern France. The plant is about 25 kilometers to the west of the city of Cherbourg which is famous for the film, Les Parapluies de Cherbourg. Spent fuels brought in from abroad is unloaded at the port of Cherbourg, and transported to La Hague by train while domestically spent fuels are delivered to the plant also by train via Valonges station.

La Hague Reprocesses Spent Fuels Produced by 27 Electric Companies of Japan and Europe

The total area of the La Hague Reprocessing Plant is 300 hectares and usually 6,000 people are working there, about half or 3,000 of whom are full time COGEMA staff. Most of the workers live in the suburbs of Cherbourg and commute by bus or drive to work.

We had a chance to observe the mechanical processing facility of reprocessing at the UP-3 plant, the vitrification facility, spent fuel storage pool, control room, and vitrified waste storage pool. This "UP- 3" plant started operations in August 1990, and aims to reprocess 7,000 tons of spent fuels from 27 electric companies in Europe and Japan by the year 2000. (Their annual reprocessing capacity is 800 tons.)

Another plant, "UP-2," had a reprocessing capacity of 400 tons when it started operations in 1966, but can now reprocess 800 tons annually, which is comparable to the capacity of the UP-3. It reprocesses mainly fuels used in France.

As of June 1998, the La Hague Reprocessing Plant has already reprocessed 12,631 tons of spent fuel. Table 1 shows its breakdown by country. Table 1 Amounts of Fuel Reprocessed at the La Hague Reprocessing Plant (Unit: MTU)

UP-2 UP-3 Total France 5,288 - 5,288 Germany 1,643 2,013 3,656 Japan 151 2,357 2,508 Switzerland 132 229 361 Netherland 85 141 226 Belgium 139 453 592 Total 7,438 5,193 12,631

According to COGEMA, although the reprocessing capacity is increasing, radiation exposure per worker and radiation influence on the environment is quite low, as shown below, and this is the result of their efforts to secure safety.

● － Annual radiation exposure per worker = 0.20 millirems (1/250 of the international permissible dose of radiation for those who work at nuclear facilities.)

● － Influence of radiation levels from La Hague Reprocessing Plant to the environment = 1/100 of natural radiation.

Spent Fuel Storage Pool (from a brochure at the COGEMA)

Guide to La Hague Can Be Found at the Tourist Information Center in Town

About 10,000 people every year, or 10 to 15 groups every month, visit this reprocessing plant. At a tourist information center we happened to visit in the city of Cherbourg, we found a flyer inviting visitors to the La Hague Reprocessing Plant. The schedule showed a half-day trip by bus free of charge, starting from the city at 2 o'clock and returning to the city at 6 o'clock in the evening.

They said that there were no serious objections against the plant in the area, except for sporadic visits by members of the Greenpeace movement, but they would be engaged in activities to promote understanding of local residents for future.

Both Oil and Nuclear Energy Are Important

Through these visits, we saw for ourselves the great contrasts as between the Arab world and Europe, between oil and nuclear energy, between daytime temperatures of 40 and 15 degrees Celsius, and these differences were very meaningful in a sense. For example in Saudi Arabia, industrial development is falling behind because they have used up the oil dollars they had gathered from all over the world.

However, as we learn the actual situation in this desert country, that is, their low work efficiency is inevitable due to the harsh weather conditions, the strict religious prohibitions against women having jobs, which causes a chronic shortage of manpower and generates a reliance on foreign workers such as Koreans, as well as other factors, we understand that such delays cannot be attributed solely to any lack of effort toward self-help. One example of their harsh weather conditions is that when planting trees they have to spent a great amount of money every year for water sprinklers etc. to supply water for tree maintenance, which requires no extra work in Japan.

In any case, Saudi Arabia's oil reserves are equal to one quarter of the world's reserves, and the Middle East area as a whole holds 70% of the world's oil reserves. Keeping that in mind, it is necessary to consider how we should cooperate with these countries, and how to cope with oil energy issues.

In contrast, France, unlike Saudi Arabia, has no oil riches. Therefore, 78% of France's electricity is generated by nuclear power, and spent nuclear fuels are recycled through reprocessing.

Now what about Japan? Japan has no oil riches, just as with France, so that it has agreed to the line of recycling and using spent fuel one more time. But nuclear power accounts for only 35% of the amount of electricity generated in Japan, which is far less than the figures for France. Even by the year 2010, this ratio is planned for an increase to only 45%. This situation is due to various factors, including characteristics of each power source, the load conditions and others. Accordingly, Japan has based its strategy on the concept of “the best mix,” to avoid giving too much weight to any single specific power source, out of consideration for energy security. This means that Japan will maintain favorable relationships with both the Arab nations for oil and France for nuclear power, in order to achieve energy security.

[Back to No.24 Contents]

Mar. 23 1999 Copyright (C) 1999 Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle Nourriture - 6

Eating Habits in My New World

Yuji Tsushima

Encounter with the New Continent

More than 40 years ago, in July, I traveled to the U.S. as a Fulbright scholarship student aboard a ship named the Hikawamaru. The day that we sailed into Seattle, the first foreign port that I had ever visited, I woke up early in the morning before the sun had risen and ventured out onto the freezing deck. The ship slowly moved into the narrow sound, formed by the surrounding hills that were blanketed by a black virgin forest. I was enchanted by the silhouette of a strange country as it opened before me. I spent one night in Seattle and then set out for Chicago next afternoon aboard the Pullman transcontinental express train.

Unfortunately, I have no recollection what my first meal in America was. I still have not forgotten, however, the seemingly dry, aromatic, and unique fragrance that seemed to permeate the country's buildings, whether they were hotels or the immigration office. Whether the smell originated from luxury items such as cigars, or from the oil used to clean the offices, I have no idea. I do know, however, that over the years this smell that I always associated with America has disappeared, and I now recognize it as the "smell of the people" that is noticeable in every country.

The journey aboard the train was a comfortable one. In recollection, I think it proved to be a very important experience for me. A string of events occurred and kept me from getting tired from the long journey, which lasted two nights and three days. As we crossed the Rocky Mountains and headed east, I was able to see several small tornadoes or impressive sand spouts somewhere near Montana or Wyoming; I felt a little frightened, and was in awe of expanse of the country.

The dining car's food was pretty delicious, especially the Idaho potatoes that were so big I could barely support them with both hands. The cooks had baked the potatoes in their skins and inserted slabs of butter; the simple flavor and the size of the portion astounded me, a poor foreign student from a country that had lost the war. Apparently, though, the dining car's meals were not enough to satisfy the enormous appetites of the young students, and some of them left the train during long layovers to get between-meal snacks. The famous story among my friends took place at the moment. One of those students came back to the train with a can of meat, which he proceeded to open proudly in front of the other students in the next room. As he was about to open the can, one of the other students noticed one word on the label of the can. It said, "For Dogs." We were very poor, and the printing on the label was very attractive. Japanese living in those days could not have imagined feeding dogs something as dear as canned meat. First Experience of American Delicacies

In Chicago I transferred to a train heading for Williamsburg, Virginia, where I attended an orientation for the study. It was a truly hot summer, and the humidity peculiar to the Chesapeake area was almost too much for a foreign student like me. Even our group of Japanese students, who were supposed to be used to humid rainy seasons, had quite a hard time dealing with it. This was at a time when student dormitories were still without air-conditioning equipment. I still remember that one summer as the worst ever for my appetite. The food that was lined up on display in the university cafeteria was not of the kind that made you want to reach out and take it. I think I was drinking nothing but iced tea all summer as I was always sweating.

Once the summer was over, I finally had a chance to visit Washington, D.C. Although I stayed in a cheap hotel, my appetite had returned with the autumn breeze, and in order to fulfill it, I walked around the city looking for suitable restaurants. After all, I only had 120 dollars to spend each month. After much walking around, I finally spotted a street-corner restaurant that, to my delight, had a menu on display at the entrance which listed some reasonably priced meals. Looking over the menu, I found an item called "Soft-shell Crab," someing that I had never heard of before. I remember the price was a mere one dollar.

After I had ordered and waited a while, a waitress finally brought me my food and placed it in front of me. It was blackish-brown in color, still had the legs attached, and looked as though it had been hung out and dried. It took me a while to pry the shell off with the seafood knife the waitress had brought, but I was finally able to lift a portion of the crab to my trembling mouth. I cautiously tasted the food, wondering what my palate, which had been dulled from eating university cafeteria food for so long, would think of it. I was puzzled by the strange taste, which seemed different from both meat and fish, as I set out curiously to test each single bite.

According to what I have heard, the shell of the soft-shell crab is only edible during a specific season each year (perhaps during the period when they shed their old shells.) This species of crab is now imported to Japan, where it seems to be enjoying relative popularity. For me, I will never be able to forget the experience of this surprising New World taste.

What is really unfortunate is that, at the time, the only thing I could think of that would go well with this taste was beer. However, most Americans in the 1950s still did not drink wine as a custom with their meals. I do not even remember what kinds of foods were provided as side dishes. It was probably something ordinary, soft, and textureless, like french fries. If placing perfect food on the plate is a sign of a professional chef, then America still had a little practicing to do.

For a poor student in his 20s, standard American meals like thick hamburgers and fried chicken were very good for whetting a young guy's appetite, and I enjoyed them. As a Japanese living in that time, I was also surprised at how many raw vegetables Americans always munched on. In Japan, people who ate raw vegetables still ran the risk of contracting parasites, so I was quite impressed.

At any rate, the U.S. is a nation of huge proportions, and therefore it naturally boasts a wide variety of foods; the volume of food was unparalleled. If you ordered a steak in a cheap, popular restaurant, you would receive an enormous chunk of meat that practically hung off the sides of the plate. On the other hand, many of these steaks would be tough on the gums and jaws, and it seemed like they'd had all the juice wrung out of them before being served. But for a mere 3 dollars, you could still order a pretty tasty steak. So, even on a student's allowance, I was still able to enjoy this luxury about once a month.

What impressed us the most was how rich the fish actually was. I was amazed at the freshness and abundance of oysters in the eastern U.S. Oysters on the half shell served on ice－you could eat a dozen of them in just a moment. And, unlike in France, you would wash them down with beer instead of wine. Of course it is a little annoying when your stomach chills so quickly. I once heard that a young university professor who was studying in Boston ate too many of them at once and had to be carried off to the hospital in an ambulance because his stomach almost froze.

In addition to shellfish, Main lobsters were also extremely elegant, light and delicious. The large ones seemed to be as long as 40 centimeters. For some reason, I don't have much recollection of there being spiny lobsters. By the way, the largest spiny lobster I have ever laid eyes on was the one I dined on in Sri Lanka. Even with the head cut off, it still measured more than 30 centimeters in length, which led me to believe that the whole lobster must have originally measured more than 50 centimeters in length. I have heard before that religion in Sri Lanka discourages the indiscriminate harvesting of seafood, and therefore the country is blessed with extra-large marine products. I am worried that the reason why spiny lobsters caught in Japan are getting smaller and smaller these years is because of indiscriminate fishing.

Many swimming crabs live in the James River on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. There are so many that you can actually see them swimming if you look down at the water from a bridge. I would guess that not a few people know about the restaurant in the Washington D.C. suburbs that offers the swimming crab on its everyday menus. I remember the time that I ate there, and the large mountain of crab shell that I left behind.

Home-Cooked Meals

In America in the 1950s, the "pioneer spirit" and Puritan honor were much more respected as a virtue than in today. The middle class was the backbone of society, and the housewives' steady and sound way of thinking was the force that moved society. And, needless to say, a lot of time and effort were spent on cooking delicious meals. The first time that I, a foreign student, had a chance to experience traditional American-style home cooking was on Thanksgiving Day. There was an atmosphere that seemed to say, "It is a respectable family's duty to invite foreign students who had no family to live with, have dinner together at candlelight, and give thanks for the blessings of God and nature." The host cut the roast turkey with a knife and fork and placed the meat on our plates, and we ate it with jelly. I will always remember the wonderful hospitality we were shown for as long as I live. There was a simple trust in the inherent goodness of human beings, and when we prayed together, I remember the feeling of joy toward life that naturally overcame me. Middle-class American culture, which supports the nation, underwent a radical metamorphosis beginning in the 1960s, caused in part by the war in Viet Nam, and by social changes － such as women's getting jobs outside home. When speaking about the culture of a country's cuisine, one must always take into account the social changes occurring in the country, and changes in the lifestyles of the country's people.

Diversification and Narrow-Mindedness of Culinary Culture

Looking back on the changes that have occurred in American culinary culture, it seems apparent that cuisine from all around the world have come to coexist in the U.S., partly because of social changes such as rising immigration rates and a new respect of minorities. We can also say that the influx of foreigners, who brought with them the culinary culture of their mother countries, added greatly to America's existing culinary culture, and helped it to break out of its traditional framework. We can see how the foods of many different countries have permeated American life to become part of the country's own culture, beginning with cooking from Europe, followed by Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Of course, you all know that as far as adopting the cuisines of other countries goes, Japan is second to none.

In Washington D.C., and New York in the 1950s, it was impossible to find an authentic Japanese restaurant. Now, however, one can find many "sushi bars" where, if you walk inside at lunchtime, you will be able to see American businessmen/women eating sushi with their fingers or chopsticks with practiced skill. It is my understanding that this popular trend originated from a heightened awareness of healthy food. I have also heard that many Americans have started eating more fish because they have heard fish is what helps Japanese to live such long lives. At the time I was a student in the U.S., many Americans came up to me showing outspoken curiosity and asked, "Is it true that Japanese really eat raw fish?" So you can see how much culinary culture in the U.S. has changed since that time.

In general, it is good to see that the "wave of globalization" that has washed over the world has been instrumental in eliminating a lot of culinary prejudices. Ignorance and prejudice toward strangers often get together and rather possibly lead to misunderstanding or hostility. And now from this standpoint, after nearly a half of a century has passed, the remarkable diversification of culinary culture that has permeated the country is truly a wonderful phenomenon.

I once lived next door to a German student when I attended the university in the U.S. Holst was a simple-hearted geography major from a small country town in southern Germany. He loved reading books and riding his bicycle along the country roads, and was an all-around likeable guy whom I soon became a friend. The dormitory that we lived in had one kitchen and one common refrigerator for every three bedrooms/study rooms. The students who lived there each bought their own groceries and cooked their own food.

It wasn't long after we had started living there that I heard someone knock timidly on my door. When I opened the door, who should be standing there with a distressed expression on his face but Holst! I asked him what had happened, and he gestured with his finger to come with him. I followed him into the kitchen where he opened the refrigerator, pointed to a package wrapped in paper lying in the corner, and asked, "What is that?" Dumbfounded, I responded, "This is shrimp. I'll have it for dinner." With a slightly embarrassed and puzzled expression on his face, he shrugged his shoulders and returned to his room without uttering a word.

I had bought these shrimps at the supermarket across the way during lunchtime. That night, I cooked half of them for dinner. The next morning, I ran into Holst in the kitchen. Again, he opened up the refrigerator in a slightly bashful manner, pointed at my shrimp, and asked me, of all things, "Haven't you finished it?" It was then that I finally realized that the smell was really bothering him. So I ended up cooking the rest of the shrimp for breakfast and eating them with fried eggs.

After a few days had gone by, Holst surprised me again. He told me that in all of his 25 years, he had never even touched a shrimp or crab before, much less tasted one. When I thought about it, I could only remember him eating traditional German foods, such as ham, sausage, or potatoes and green peas. So the shrimp that I had been keeping in the refrigerator must have really driven him up the wall, since he had never experienced raw seafood before.

You cannot blame simple-hearted, kind people for their culinary ignorance because they are hesitant to venture out of their shells, created during childhood, and try something new. However, if you just leave different cultures and habits unknown, it is easy for prejudice towards people of a different culture or race to occur. In order to prevent these exclusionary, discriminatory emotions from occurring, it is important to open our eyes to the joy of sharing food.

Together with an American student who lived next door, we were able to change Holst's opinion of seafood. The opportunity came when this American, who was a pretty fine cook, brought us some trout that he had caught in Lake Ontario. He sauteed the fish in butter, and served it to Holst with potatoes to add some German flavor. That was enough to open his eyes. After that, we were free to store our seafood in the refrigerator.

(Member of the House of Representatives)

[Back to No.24 Contents]

Mar. 23 1999 Copyright (C) 1998 Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle Lecture 10

Watch Them! - You Can See Hands via Satellites

Toshibumi Sakata Director, Tokai University Research & Information Center

Uses of satellites to monitor any nation's potential production of nuclear weapons is being discussed. Professor Toshibumi Sakata of Tokai University, who studies the processing of satellite images sent from the areas around large cities, the investigations of the pyramids, as well as the conditions of nuclear facilities and others, spoke to us on a variety of topics, including today's levels of image processing technology.(Editor)

What Can We See from A Satellite?

First, let me tell you how objects on earth is viewed from satellites.

Human eyes can see things clearly when there is a lot of light, and no obstacles, but cannot see in the dark. The dark is, so to speak, a world of ultraviolet and infrared rays, in which our eyes cannot process the information we desire. The thermal infrared spectrum is even more invisible. The human body can sense the source of the heat, but it is invisible to eyes. Prof. Toshibumi Sakata

With some adjustments, objects visible to human eyes should be visible from a satellite, and that is one of our goals. The question is how small the object may be. When reading fine print, the distance between the print and the viewer needs to be within a certain range, yet the print is also illegible if it is too close to the viewer. A certain distance is necessary for clear visual perception. How then can we see an object one kilometer away on the ground? The answer is, we can barely see a thing at that distance. It is said that some native peoples of Africa can see things at a distance of 500 or 600 meters. Because conditions are good, and there is sufficient light, people like us living in urban centers for a long time are always able to find something in view. Whether people can see or not is highly significant to the people themselves. But when we turn "sight" over to a machine, and view things electronically or through a lens, we often gain an unexpected view. But this too is limited to the range of visible light. We humans can see the range between the ultraviolet and the infrared ends of the spectrum. Yellow is the most vivid color we can see, while black is the least vivid. That is why yellow and black are used as stripes on traffic signs. One interesting thing is that the range of these vivid colors changes at night. When light levels fall below a certain level, the most effective combination becomes pale green and white. The green and white traffic signs posted in some places are meant to be seen in the evening light, and are used where yellow-black signs are not easily seen. This is an example of using our knowledge of what people can and cannot see.

Another thing is shape. We can recognize the very simple shapes such as circles, straight lines, triangles and rectangles at a glance. More complex shapes, such as octagons or decagons are not immediately distinguishable. Immediate distinctions between shapes depend on how fast one can recognize their characteristics. The human face belongs to the highest level of human recognition. People have been seeing faces from the moment of birth, and the position of the eyes, nose, eyebrows, and other parts of the face are not really so different from each other. Although there are slight differences in the position, length, and size of individual features, the moment we look at a face, our eyes recognize the shape as a whole, and our brain looks for only the slight differences through our eyes. We know the difference between an angry face and a smiling face, and we know when someone gets angry as they talk. The human ability to distinguish human faces is more highly developed than we realize. The first thing humans look at is the face, and they notice shape and appearance only after that.

Visual Information Comes in Shape, Brightness and Then Color

When we understand that we see an object, we see the form and recognize it for what it is. Generally, the first information that comes through our eyes is the shape, and then comes information about brightness and color. When people say they cannot see because there isn't enough light, or cannot recognize anything without light, they are referring to the issue of contrast.

A camera is a device which is given the ability of human beings to judge what has been seen. The world as seen in photographs taken by a camera look real, but as a matter of fact is not exactly the same as the real thing. Although the camera may be adjusted to imitate the human eye, the resulting world varies slightly depending on the photosensitivity of silver contained in the film. When you have a film to be developed, the prints you receive are not exactly all the same all the time. As long as you look at isolated prints, they all appear to be good pictures with beautiful colors. But if you selected several and looked at them side by side, you would find subtle differences between them. This is due to the sensitivities of the technicians working at the company which prints the photographs.

For this reason, the colors of Kodak, Fuji Film, and Konica are not the same. The colors appearing in each type of film differ, depending on the world in which they are found. In America, the colors of Kodak film are very vivid. Kodak film is tested in the Arizona desert, and the contrast is completely different. The brightness is different. In a very humid place like Japan, things will be even more different. When you go to Europe, the colors are different in Germany, in Italy and everywhere. Sensitivity to colors differs from country to country, family to family. As a result, we need to understand fully basically everything, including how the eyes work in sensing things, how they recognize them, to what colors they are sensitive, and what they see in order to process data.

The question concerning what we could see from a satellite was a starting point for this inquiry, and we are testing many factors based on the conditions just mentioned here.

What People Can See Is Green and Yellow

The range of human sight is between green and yellow. Under natural conditions, for instance, when we see grass, it looks green and nothing more. But in reality it emits a varied spectrum over a wider range. In the world of butterflies, things look completely different because they see ultraviolet rays. The world of dogs is also unique. So is the world of snakes. Snakes see infrared rays. So, if you catch a snake and bring an object, the snake will sneak up to the object because it emits infrared rays.

It is impossible for us to see beyond the range of thermal infrared. We would never say that the heat from a stove glares and dazzles our eyes. A stove may look warm, and in fact it radiates tremendous energy. But the range beyond thermal infrared is the world of the radio wave. Some people say that they can feel radio waves, but I would say there is something wrong with those people. Those who say radio waves are noisy should go and see a doctor.

Fig. １ Future of Sensor

When we try to see the ground from a satellite, we decide upon the range of light within which we will view things (Fig. 1). For example, there is a difference between the light range used in the images from SPOT, a French satellite, and LANDSAT, an American satellite. LANDSAT has a much wider range of light images. That is why it is used more often. Similarly, our Japanese satellite produces images from a wider range as well, as it is equipped with instruments sensitive to both light and radio wave spectrums. This satellite, "Fuyo" (Japanese Earth Resources Satellite: JERS), worked for six and a half years but has recently ended its operations.

As you see, there are many man-made satellites, and they all have eyes with different ranges. Just as there are many animals, we have snake-range satellites, dog-range satellites, human-range satellites and many more.

Commercial Satellite Resolution Is within 1 Meter: Military within 5 - 6 Centimeters

With a resolution of 100 meters, we see a square area of 100 meters as one unit. We used to employ roughly 80-meter resolution, and it was always exciting to see the earth from the outer space. But when I think of that scale now, it seems like a coarse picture drawn by a child using crayons. Now it is possible to produce beautiful images that look like they came off a copier. Resolution has been improved, from 50 meters to 30 or even 10 meters. At the moment, we use resolution under the 10- meter square level, and this will improve to roughly 1 meter sooner or later. This year, a commercial satellite with 1-meter resolution will be launched, which will extend the limits of the areas visible to us.

When we speak of military satellites, it was back in the late 60's when man-made satellites could discern a 1-meter square. 30 years ago, they were seeing 1-meter squares. And today, they can see things as short as 5 to 6 centimeters long. We might say if you held out your hand, they could see it.

With radio satellites, how good is the resolution of the radio wavelength images? The answer is about 10 meters. It is expected to improve to 1 to 3 meters soon. That is where we stand now. We can sense that the technology of the machines created to take the place of the human eye has developed rapidly, and will be able to perform at a very high level.

In a more specific setting, I was on an observation committee which examined the level of ground search via satellite at the time of the earthquake in Kobe. Figure 2 shows the image of an expressway twisted and overturned for several hundred meters in Higashi-Nada-ku in Kobe, as seen from the satellite. IFOV=4M

Fig. ２ Image Resolution Comparison

The upper left area shows 10-meter resolution. At this level, we can see the expressway is twisted if we were told so, but otherwise there is no way to tell. Below it is a picture of 8-meter resolution. We can see something between the roads. Below that is the image using 4-meter resolution. We can see how the expressway is twisted. But the picture is still coarse. The picture featuring 2-meter resolution on upper right shows the bridge support beams. There isn't much difference between the images using 2-meter and 1-meter resolution.

These images of 1- to 2-meter resolution allow us to judge things to some extent, as long as we refer to a map. One of the goals of reconnaissance satellites in the late 60's was 1-meter resolution. That resolution was thought sufficient for spotting military facilities in those days.

Resolution Alone Does Not Provide Enough Information

In the 60's, the KH series reconnaissance satellites, currently the topic of the day, were put into practical uses. These satellites enabled views with rough 1-, 3-, 5- and 6-meter resolution from about 200 kilometers above the ground surface. It was in the 60's when the KH series satellites started realizing the 1-, 2-meter, and 60-centimeter resolution which I mentioned earlier. During the Gulf War, the KH-11 was the most frequently used satellite, with its resolution of 10 to 15 centimeters at an altitude of 250 kilometers. Then came the KH-12, with which we were told objects within 6 to 15 centimeters in size became visible, as I mentioned earlier.

For reconnaissance satellites, resolution is a major concern for many of us, and we will say that 1- meter is better, or several centimeters sounds better, but resolution alone does not convey enough information. Just as I mentioned in the beginning, without deciding on the spectrum range to be used, nothing will be useful. I feel that we have lacked discussion in this area for some time now.

In fact, there used to be restrictions on resolution agreed upon between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The issue was proposed at the United Nations repeatedly but was never discussed because the issue of restrictions on resolution was not well resolved. At any rate, 100 meters was said to be the limit at the global level, 10 to 50 meters regionally, and 1 meter locally. However, there was no final decision due to many things that happened in the field of technology and various other obstacles.

Pentagon Views Sold by Russia

In the 60's, Russia sold the data they received through military satellites to obtain hard cash. This turned out to be a great scandal, and the U.S. was enraged, as it ran against previous mutual agreements. Part of the problem was that the U.S. didn't know the limits of the satellite that provided the images on sale. Russia lowered the resolution levels of a photograph of the Pentagon (U.S. Department of Defense) taken by their military satellite, and distributed the image on floppy discs worldwide. In the image allegedly on sale, all the cars in the Pentagon parking lot were visible. This caused serious trouble, and the U.S. started to improve the resolution of commercial satellites to within 1 meter after this incident. This was the turning point for 1-meter resolution to become the generally accepted standard for commercial satellites.

High Resolution Sensor Images 〔Before the Accident〕 〔After the Accident〕 Thermal Image of Cooling Water Discharge from the Station Fig. 3 Survey of the Accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station

The photographs in Figure 3 are our analysis of the Chernobyl accident in 1986. The upper right photograph shows that the Unit 4 reactor had turned red. The accident occurred on April 26, and the satellite passed over the area on April 29. Our analysis was that the reactors had stopped three days after the explosion, and that there was only a little warm cooling water (lower right). The two photographs on the left were taken in March, the previous month, when the reactors were in operation, and we could observe quite a lot of warm cooling water (lower left). In particular, it was cold in March so the warm cooling water was very visible from the satellite. This image shows heat in color. It is possible to take such an image, and it provides good information.

Fig. 4. Heat Distribution in Tokyo - Night View

Now, the question is how much is visible in these images. Figure 4 is a thermal image of Tokyo. The part emitting no heat is the Imperial Palace. The Marunouchi and Ginza areas are shown as large red areas, and the small red area above them is Ikebukuro. Shinjuku and Shibuya below it are totally red. In short, places where many people gather emit more heat and appear in this fashion, and are naturally visible.

Fig. 5. Cooling Water Discharge from Fukushima Nuclear Power Station

Figure 5 is a photograph of a nuclear power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., in Fukushima, and we can see the spread of warm cooling water quite clearly. Based on these results, it is my belief that not only research into high resolution images but additional and thorough research into aspects of spectrum is also necessary.

Fig. ６ Yongbyon（North Korea)

Figure 6 shows Yongbyon. This is the very image that alerted us in 1986 that Yongbyon existed in this location. It was in 1993 or 1994 when we finally announced that this was the location. This area had been targeted for some time, and we could say that there were research laboratories here. There was a group of factories under construction. We knew that they were constructing something, but there was no way to obtain more information using only our available spectrum. Moreover, the resolution of the satellite used was limited, so we processed this image under better conditions for viewing, and this was the result.

The point is the extent that we can reach with image processing technology. Various things become clear through image processing. We can now see a power plant and a research building. There is a river behind them, and they seem to be using the water for cooling. There are some research laboratories, but they don't seem very important. The building which the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspected, the factories, and where they dumped waste, as well as other information has since become available.

These things became visible as a result of putting together the high-resolution image of the French satellite and the wide-spectrum image of the U.S. satellite. In other words, black and white images with higher resolution look clear, but are impervious to further interpretation. On the other hand, the same image in color is much more amenable to interpretation. It definitely contains more information in those colors.

Building Information Systems Is More Important

The image of Yongbyon also appeared in a newspaper in Hong Kong. Comparing it with the image seen in 1989, it is obvious that the location was camouflaged by building houses on top of it in 1992 (Fig. 7).

Fig. ７

After that, some photographs of the site appeared from time to time in press reports, and we chose a moment of snapshot from the image aired by the Central Television broadcast and interpreted that (Fig. 8). By doing so, we contributed to the IAEA inspection in terms of budget and function. At that moment, IAEA was not taking our proposal seriously, and saying that it was impossible for us to contribute to their inspection using satellite images. But their view changed completely after the Gulf War, and they expected this would be effective. Since such technology is available, various things on the ground will be perfectly visible with the use of satellites. Consequently, it would be a good idea to establish an open system to make sure that no country is trying to cheat others.

Fig. 8

Therefore, I think it is much more important to build information systems, rather than to emphasize discussions on resolution. My impression is that everyone is too aggressively discussing hardware.

Taepo Dong and Nodong Are Names of Places Although we usually call the North Korean missiles "Taepo Dong" and "Nodong," I doubt if the press did any thorough investigation of these names. In the U.S., the name "Nodong" is understood to indicate a place name, while in Japan, a speaker of Korean said that the word meant "labor," and it was decided to use it as such. The other new name "Taepo Dong" is also a place name. This provides good clues for us to work with.

If you try to find these places, you cannot find them on any maps published by South Korea (Republic of Korea). I checked maps made by the Imperial Japanese Land Survey Department in 1917 and found them marked clearly. This is an unexpected finding and no news has mentioned them.

There is a place called Kimchaek. Beyond it is a point called Cape Musdanli, where they claimed that a satellite was launched. The longitude and latitude are clearly written there between Musdanli and Kimchaek. Our investigation has made this clear. I wonder why these facts have not appeared in the news.

Fig. 9 Land Survey Map (1917) Showing "Nodong" and "Taepo Dong" as Geographic Locations

Figure 9 is a map drawn up by the Land Survey Department in 1917. The cape is not included in this map but the area around Kimchaek is flat land. There are places called "Nodong" and "Taepo Dong." The missiles, "Nodong" and "Taepo Dong," were launched from this region. Since there shouldn't be such a coincidence, they must have been named after these places. This can be checked based on existing data.

Need to Establish Satellite Technology Unique to Japan

Images by satellites are not almighty in judging situations on the ground. It is important to combine surface information with the satellite images. Information from the satellite images amounts to less than 30%, and the rest is based on surface information obtained at times from the cost of somebody's life. In that sense, the U.S. has been accumulating extensive knowledge and skills from the launches of photoreconnaissance satellites even before they accomplished 1-meter resolution with a military satellite thirty years ago. In contrast, even though we gather 30 or 50 people who have recent experience in computers or image processing at a university, and have them interpret the data, it will take a long time and much trouble to achieve the same high-level technology. That is to say, I think there is no point in looking for more accurate visual information when we cannot provide full interpretation of satellite images that we now possess.

So the first thing we should do is to establish an information processing system, within which we establish image-processing technology as part of its facilities. Meanwhile, we need to develop various software and hardware items. If we buy a military satellite from America, give it to someone and say "Now you can take photographs, go ahead," he or she may be happy and say "Wow, now we can see things" but there is more to it than that. Introducing military satellites will make the situation better, but it only provides a temporary system.

In Japan today, where information disclosure is written into the rules of society, the most difficult thing should be how to build a satellite image processing system. It is critical to build a database, which accepts all sorts of information, to improve the technical levels, and at the same time create original Japanese information satellite technology. The development should not be limited to higher resolutions, but needs to include wider spectrums, increased sensitivity to electromagnetic waves, and possessing more variety. Building the same information system as the U.S. will mean little. Japan will always be tagging along after the U.S. in that case. There isn't much sense in making such an effort unless Japan is able to provide excellent information, which the U.S. would want to request from us.

Japan is saying that the information collected by such satellites is not only for defense purposes, but for multiple purposes, including diplomatic use. But this has put Japan at a disadvantage because other countries misinterpret this and think that Japan is trying to camouflage military use with the word "multipurpose."

[Exchange of Opinions]

Satellite Images Are Not Almighty. Wide-Range Information Systems Are Most Important

Eto:The most important thing for Japan is the smooth acquisition of a variety of information, including image analysis and establishing the information systems which enable us to obtain better information independently. The point of obtaining things like information systems is how to make use of it as one of our diplomatic techniques. I think the greatest point is how Japan can obtain a processing system for image information with 1-meter resolution or something even more advanced, and how it can build the appeal of such information in diplomatic situations. Could you share your opinions on that?

Sakata:Today, the Self-Defense Forces of Japan are provided with top-grade equipment. But they have never used it in actual combat. Everything is done in simulation, or on maneuvers. The top- grade armament consists of not only the hardware, or strategic weapons, but also in a superb information system that enables us to avoid actual battles. Information would be an effective deterrent. Information in itself is neither offensive nor defensive. If you present an interpretation of a piece of information from a different point of view, it would prevent your opponent from attacking on you, or they would have to change their cards. That is the point of using information. There is nothing more effective than information.

After the World War II, and also during the war, the greatest drawback Japan experienced was always information gathering. Now is a chance to compensate for that lack, and additional information with the existing armaments will form an even more stable deterrent. Remember, isolated information doesn't seem to be as effective as a deterrent. A certain level of military power is essential, together with a cover of information. Wrapping our military power in information will soften impression of Japan. I would like to suggest that we consider what information should be based on these points.

Satellite image information is not the only information, and is not almighty, either. It happens to be a very effective device for investigating visually, but it is only a part of the overall information. In order to obtain better information, having a high performance satellite doesn't make much sense unless we build a system to fully utilize the incoming information at the same time.

I would agree that Japan is going to have such a satellite. But it will be embarrassing if it doesn't know what to do with what would be an expensive toy. Infrastructure to make the full use of the information is fairly significant. Such infrastructure should include not only simple computer technology, but information on social science, humanities, natural science, and many other areas. And without this background, there is nothing we can say. Therefore, we must work simultaneously on the establishment of information gathering methods, and the development and promotion of analysis techniques. The defense budget is not sufficient to accomplish this. Because we will be using the information solely for military purposes if we rely only on the defense budget. It should be used in the diplomatic field as well. If I go to extremes, unless the system is extended to industry and other fields, it will not be a proper infrastructure for information.

Suppose we can see a character lying on the ground. It doesn't mean a thing if we cannot read it. Suppose there is a village that has been there for a long time. It doesn't make much sense without specific information about the village in the area. There is a ground-to-air missile base in the mountains in Yongbyon, which I mentioned before. It used to be a villa for Kim Il Sung. It was said that Kim Il Sung went there, but he might not have gone to that villa. The village of Yongbyon lies on the north side of the mountain. North Korea (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) is not the only case, but interpretation is impossible without a knowledge of the social customs, geography, history, etc. That is why a very broad information system is required most urgently.

Eto:The point is how we build such an information system. If we build the entire system but the entire system is not usable, ordinary people will not use it even if the system is fully open to public. It sounds fine to say the system is open, but it seems rather scary, in a sense, when we think about who is going to make use of the finished system.

Sakata: The situation can vary depending on how the system is used. The most significant underlying issue is the issue of morals. "To make a profit" is not wrong, but some people will do anything to make a profit, even violating laws or killing people. A basic education or system must be provided to cope with these problems. The greatest disadvantage of the Japanese society is that a new system cannot be introduced all at once.

Proposing A Global Security System

We have proposed to build a "Global Security System" at a fairly early stage, but there were times when other nations paid no attention to Japan's proposal, and at other times we paid no attention to other nations' proposal.

Eto:If Japan proposes such a system, and puts it into action, suspicions may arise that Japan will hold all the technology for it and not make the technology available other nations.

Sakata:Japan is often suspect, because we neglect to explain situations or engage in public relations to make our situation known. Japan should provide full explanation that it has no intention of attacking other nations even if it has an information satellite. However, it is certain that China is going to say something against Japan having a satellite. North Korea as well will protest, because it deployed missiles and is suspected of developing nuclear weapons. Once they start to condemn Japan, other Asian nations are going to chime in with the same thing.

Eto:Whether we use the word "reconnaissance" or "multipurpose" for the satellite, generally it can be used for multipurpose use as long as we know this much with 1-meter resolution.

Sakata:We use "multipurpose" in Japanese. But people abroad apply more intrinsic names, so they may call it an "espionage satellite" or "reconnaissance" or "verification." Each name makes very different impression. In this sense, it is necessary to choose the right word, otherwise we will have trouble when it is translated. I'm quite sure that a newspaper in Hong Kong or somewhere will write that Japan launched an espionage satellite.

Satellites Orbit the Earth in 90 to 110 Minutes

Gotoh:You showed us photographs of Chernobyl, Vladivostok, and Tokyo Bay, but does a satellite cover the surface of the Earth all the time, or is it set to see a specific place continuously?

Sakata:Basically, a satellite circles the Earth in regular orbits. Please note that it orbits the Earth in about 90 to 110 minutes. The speed it travels is 8 kilometers per second, which is very fast. But after 110 minutes, the satellite moves to cover a different area, because the Earth is also revolving. Actually, it takes 16 days for a satellite to return to its original position. This is due to the laws of physics, so it's inevitable. If we have only one high resolution satellite, we will have to wait 16 days before we have another shot of the same place. That's not very reliable. So, the best way would be to have 16 satellites. We can have a photograph every day with these 16 satellites. But the cost would be prohibitive. So we tried several ideas, and decided on shifts of two, for a total of four satellites in orbit. That way, we can have at least one satellite traveling over the place, and have photographs over a certain period of time.

One of the characteristics and shortcomings of satellites is that they cannot observe continuously all the time. The satellite must reach an altitude of 36,000 kilometers to provide regular observation, as the speed of the satellite and the Earth's speed of revolution do not synchronize below that level. At 36,000 kilometers, the speed of the satellite and the movement of the Earth become equal. Weather satellites therefore look down on the movements of clouds from a distance of 36,000 kilometers above the ground. But resolution deteriorates from a distance of 36,000 kilometers. The observations at that distance obtain resolution to within several kilometers, which is sufficient for weather satellites.

If we want to have a clear picture, we must fly our satellites at lower altitudes. All of the photographs so far have been taken at a height of 500 to 700 kilometers. In the case of reconnaissance satellites, the altitude is quite low, around 250 kilometers, which is roughly one-third of the altitude of regular satellites. 10-meter resolution at a height of 700 kilometers will become 3-meter resolution if the satellite altitude is lowered to 250 kilometers. 1 meter will accordingly become 30 centimeters.

The French satellite, called "SPOT," was brought down to a lower altitude because it was old. Most of the budget used to build this satellite was provided by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications with a little added from the Ministry of Defense. But the budget of the latter Ministry has increased as that of the former diminished. When we look at the budgets, we can accurately tell the purpose of the satellite. This "SPOT" contributed to the observation of the Earth, but will serve a different purpose as it ages. Calculations are made to decide the use of each satellite.

When we want to raise or lower a satellite, we must load it with a lot of fuel, and that's a hard thing to do. In the KH series satellites, the larger models are usually carrying several tons of fuel. But it can go up and down in orbit.

Gotoh:About 20 years ago, I heard the story that we could see any army parade from a military satellite. According to what you told us, today we can distinguish a man from a woman, and an army is nothing.

Sakata:Some say that they can see the number on the car license plate, but that's not true. No car carries its license number on its roof. There are many paradoxes similar to this. Such a description in a novel can easily attracts the readers' attention, and we confuse fiction and reality. But there were grounds for these fictions. People have been watching with very high resolution since the 1960's.

During the Middle East War, Iran-Iraq War, and the Gulf War, the U.S. watched crucial aspects and events by military satellite.

Why America Kept Silent about North Korean Actions

Kikuchi:There was a discussion as to whether it was a missile or a satellite that North Korea launched. At first, it was reported as a missile, and then America suggested that it might have been a satellite. Was that an intentional fabrication of information, or a simple confusion?

Sakata:Based on the assumptions in terms of science fiction, the U.S. has advanced information, so they have good vision. At present, if North Korea pulls out a missile, it will take some time to get it ready for the launch. Moreover, the missile launched was on a three-stage rocket. If they used solid fuel, it's another story, but assuming they needed to inject some type of liquid fuel, and prepare many other things, it must have taken some days. The U.S. knew, but didn't say anything until the last moment. Naturally, they could have made assumptions as to the timing of the launch, because a crowd of people would retreat before the launch. They must have known about it. They could have known about it from monitoring the radio waves being broadcast. So, based on an indirect view, they must have known very well that things were going to happen.

Probably, information from the U.S. should reach South Korea faster than any other country for many reasons. I believe Japan also receives some information. Some information goes to the Defense Agency, and other information goes to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Taking these factors into consideration, the U.S. might have known about the movements of North Korea in good detail. It is unlikely that the U.S. had absolutely no idea, and made their announcement solely after the launch. So this time, they gave warnings from the early stages, making Japan to test at sea all the Aiegis cruisers pushed upon. But the structure launched was too long for a simple missile. It had too many boosters. We assume that it was meant to be a satellite, judging from its lift-off thrust

"Satellite" makes a good propaganda. Satellites don't get anywhere as much criticism as do missile tests. I don't know if Japan actually thought, or was forced to think, that the launch was a missile, but what was tragic about this incident is that the U.S. succeeded in its tactful trick on Japan, and got Japan to provide 3 trillion yen for the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD). This is what I have concluded.

Oblique View Makes the Height Clear

Editor:It is often said that a satellite takes photographs not only from directly above the object, but also at an oblique angle.

Sakata:It does take photographs at an oblique angle, and this is actually better. The reason is that a chimney looks like a simple circle if it is photographed from above. But we can calculate the height if the photo is taken from a side angle. The oblique view of buildings show the number of windows. Tokyo Tower is also very interesting. If Tokyo Tower is photographed obliquely, it looks as if it was lying on the ground in the image, and we can compare its height to other buildings. A view from above doesn't allow such height comparisons.

A satellite has a tilt function, the ability to turn to one side or another. When the earthquake hit Kobe, we asked other countries to tilt their satellites toward Kobe. And everybody did so. We can do such things.

Gotoh: As the tilted angle differs according to the satellite, those views provide more accurate readings.

Sakata:Usually there isn't much data in the images taken when a satellite is traveling directly over an object. It is possible to increase the amount of information by requesting other satellites nearby to tilt toward the object for a moment. Thus, the information held by a global network of Earth observation satellites is far more sophisticated than what the Self-Defense Forces are considering. There are tens of thousands of experts who study and develop the use of such a network. Thousands of Japanese are engaged in this. But there are only 50 or so people working in the Self-Defense Forces on this, on a much smaller scale. They don't let those who engage in intelligence work go outside, for fear of information leaks. As a result, they end up confined within a narrow area, mentally and physically. Despite the need for a wide variety of knowledge to process information, they have decided instead to be closed to the outside. That aspect demonstrates the low level of Japanese information processing.

Guests Speaking during the Discussion Session Akinori Eto; Director, CNFC (Member of the House of Representatives) Saburo Kikuchi; Executive Director, Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute Shigeru Gotoh; Director, CNFC (Former Member of the House of Representatives)

[Back to No.24 Contents]

Mar. 23 1999 Copyright (C) 1999 Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle (22)

(Pluto) The Buddhabali

Shigeru Gotoh

I got off the train at Ueno and took the Koen-guchi exit.

The area was in confusion with the Tokyo Metropolitan Festival Hall under renovation, but the huge gingko tree in front had turned totally yellow, and was beautiful. The day was November 24th. Autumn had arrived at the Forest of Art.

An exhibition called "Light of Italy -- Claude Lorrain and the Ideal Landscape" was being held at the National Museum of Western Art. Claude Lorrain established the basis of landscape painting in Europe, and strongly influenced Turner in England and Corot in France. I was looking forward to this exhibit, as I rarely had the chance to see Lorrain's paintings.

There were more than eighty works, oil paintings, sketches, and etchings, on display in the exhibition. These had been gathered for the exhibit with the help of many museums from all over the world. Each work was placed in a position for comfortable viewing in the new exhibition space on the first and second basement levels. The soft lighting in the exhibition area must have been based on consideration for Lorrain's beloved sketching of the hourly changes of the light in the day.

Lorrain's pastoral works depicted light and shadow with great dexterity, and were attractive. The common theme was ancient buildings and ruins filled with the mysterious atmosphere of the mythological world. Trees of rich green, rivers with sunlight shining through branches of trees, and the sea glittering in strong sunshine. Claude Lorrain's treatment of light would be taken over by the Impressionists two centuries later, and flower there.

The paintings I saw were excellent. I was filled with warm emotion, and hurried over to the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition (Nitten) at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum.

It had been in the early spring of this year. I received a letter bringing news of the cherry blossoms in Kyoto from Mrs. Satoko Yamamoto along with a book of paintings. The book was a collection of the works of her husband, Tomokatsu Yamamoto, an artist of Japanese style painting and a councilor for the Nitten Exhibition. "My mother-in-law passed away in January 6 last year, and Tomokatsu was hospitalized in March for heart surgery. While we were busy taking care of the elderly, we suddenly found ourselves getting very old." Thus she explained in her beautiful handwriting how they had decided to publish the book.

I have never missed the opportunity to see the yearly Nitten Exhibition. It is always a pleasure to see paintings by Tomokatsu Yamamoto, and also by Tadaaki Yamazaki, another artist working in Japanese-style painting, who once invited me to his atelier in Kyoto.

But this year, I almost missed the chance to visit the exhibition because of personal affairs. I finally made it to the Nitten on the last day of the exhibition.

There was a proper number of people flowing through. More women than men.

I was charmed by "Moonlight"(Gekko) by the painter Higashiyama Kaii. Snow covered landscape of a pure white mountain summit. It was a Japanese landscape completely different from the rich green landscapes of Claude Lorrain which I had just seen before coming here. The art of Higashiyama stands at the zenith of Japanese landscape paintings, and did not let me leave away easily.

Next to "Moonlight," there was "Green Shade" (Ryokuin) by the painter Masao Urata who studied under Eikyu Matsuoka. A black mourning band was attached to his name tag.

Then suddenly a poem of Zhao came to my mind. I believed it was in the Book of Selected Tang Poems.

Moonlight is like water and water stretches towards the sky. Where is my friend who would come with me and play with the moon?

In an exhibition room for Western style paintings, I found a mourning band on Mr. Toichiro Fujimoto's work, also titled "Green Shade."

It came to my mind that there was the phrase "a green thought in a green shade" in the poem "The Garden" by Andrew Marvell, a poet of the 17th century.

Although the painters were of different schools of painting, one Japanese and one Western, the two masters had mysteriously and coincidentally painted "Green Shade" at the same time. I wondered what they had in mind while they were painting such green shade. There was a lady standing immobile in front of the painting, which made the scene even more impressive.

The applied fine arts exhibit is a favorite of mine. But there again I found mourning bands on "Hunters in the Water" and "Openwork Carving of a Paulownia Flower." What was outstanding was a metal sculpture titled "Poem for Life on Earth" by Yoshiyuki Chosa. It looked as though the work was playing a requiem for the two artists who had passed away before seeing their own works exhibited here. Tomokatsu Yamamoto whom I had been concerned about was exhibiting a great work called "A Town Shining in the Rising Sun." He seemed to be up and about now. I was so happy to see his painting of a town, seen from his customary bird's-eye view.

The tune of "Auld Lang Syne" sent me out of the Nitten exhibition halls. I was excited because I hadn't had this great opportunity to see so many works of art recently, but when I stepped out into the clear outside air, I was seized with a somewhat lonesome feeling.

Even in this limited life, there is a time to spare, in an autumn evening. by Buson

The mourning bands I had seen at the exhibition disappeared into the autumn sky like a hallucination.

Recently, I have heard other news of the death of someone close, or an acquaintance. Today, I remembered a deceased friend as I read Shigeru Ekuni's diary of bed-ridden days.

Mr. Ekuni jotted his last poem on the back of a manuscript, in his private room, alone in the middle of the night. It was two days before he died.

Cancer, let us have a drink, sake in autumn.

He joked about his fight with cancer, as a haiku poet and heavy drinker who has written the ups and downs of his emotions, about the hopes and despair in his life. It is probably because of my old age but it is rather painful for me to read this book of ghastly and realistic haiku poems bearing that last poem as its title, which was written while he was undergoing medical treatment.

If you looked it up in a kanji dictionary, you would find out that " " is an Chinese ideograph combining a man and a long table, meaning "a man lying on a bed." And in a combination with "yamai-dare ( )," the radical for illness, the character meaning "嵒 rock (iwao)"makes a new character with this combination of meanings and formation. The character "癌," or cancer, is incredible, and I feel overwhelmed that man has created such a graphic symbol.

Speaking of cancer, Ryuichi Mukaibo, a very nice man, also passed away in late spring rather abruptly. I heard the news of his death in Beijing, and returned in a hurry just in time to attend his funeral. Mr. Tsutomu Yanagisawa broke off in the middle of his memorial address after saying "I cannot forget how you boldly developed your own theories, which we called the Mukaibo School." Tears came to my eyes as I listened to him talking with deep pathos about his deceased contemporary.

I had met Mr. Mukaibo probably twice. Once in Tokyo, and once at the site of the "Monju," fast breeder reactor. I was told that the man was an excellent engineer who could discuss nuclear energy in an international setting. His clear and convincing way of speaking keeps coming back to mind.

Mr. Mukaibo graduated from the Faculty of Engineering of University of Tokyo, and joined Donen (former Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation) just after the University's campus dispute. He studied at the Atomic Energy Research Institute and continued his studies at the U.S. Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory, engaging in joint research with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) bearing on the development of the fast breeder reactor, where he used his excellent language ability. After the accident at the "Monju," the front-line responsibility of dealing with the press was placed on him. He sometimes engaged in the bitter controversy over that issue, and it breaks my heart to imagine that the stress may have quickened his death.

Mr. Mukaibo often appeared unexpectedly in the press club at the Science and Technology Agency. He would discuss over a can of beer the "Monju," nuclear energy policy, sports, and anything else with those abusive reporters.

－ sometimes it turned out to be a "harsh argument." If someone said: "Do we really need a fast breeder reactor?," he would look hard and explain the current situation of development in the world, and how badly we needed a fast breeder reactor considering our energy resources and many other aspects, and the discussions went on for a long time. I used to think that it was going too far, but I always missed him when he stopped showing up for some time. ("Death of an Engineer," Yomiuri Shimbun, June 9, 1998)

I read this article in a car where I happened to be with Dr. Takashi Mukaibo, Ryuichi's father and a well-known scientist on nuclear energy. He told me that his son used to say with enthusiasm that the "Monju" was what he had lived for. I think I could feel his strong feeling for his son, and I could hardly say a word.

He died at the age of 52, and was given the posthumous Buddhist name:

松籟院洞燃日隆居士.

松籟 commemorates the pine trees near the memorable Oarai Engineering Center. 洞燃 is a homonym of 動燃, or Donen. 燃 literally means "to burn something." The name itself speaks even now that he penetrates with his acute observation.

Mr. Mukaibo cared very much for his children. He would travel abroad on business, and whenever he found a hard-to-obtain postage stamp, he would be happy to buy it as a gift for his children. Those stamps remind me of Dr. Yoshitsugu Mishima.

It was when I started to collect stamps commemorating universities. I managed to obtain stamps commemorating the completion of the nuclear reactor at Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, which was issued in 1962. Of the two stamps in the set, the one with the face value of 2 yuan depicted a reactor core, hanging from a tower-like construction crane, that was a shiny deep purple.

Dr. Mishima told me once: "This color is made when the radiation from nuclear fission bombard water atoms. It is called the Cerenkov Effect. This stamp shows a very beautiful color."

Dr. Mishima was slim. He was friendly and more like a buddy rather than a scientist. He always said: "Since we lack sufficient energy resources in Japan, we must be more eager than any other country to put the fast breeder reactor into practical application, to improve the effective utilization of uranium."

His New Year's greeting card for 1997 was printed by hand with a stamp showing a cow, and said he would like to enjoy the rest of his life after he resigned from the chairmanship of the International Nuclear Societiy Council. But soon after I received that card, I heard the news of his death on January 12, 1997.

The other day, his bereaved family sent me a book of his posthumous works titled "Writing for the Sake of Amusement (Fude no Susabi)." There were two tanka poems by Mrs. Tsuneko Mishima together with his photograph on the title page.

He spoke in delirium, it was written.

From his bed, seriously ill, he yet speaks about safety, technology and fast breeder reactors. Tonight, he has become a bright star shining in the winter sky, risking his life for peaceful uses of nuclear energy. His bright shining star - is it Pluto?

The calendar showed that we were in December.

Mr. Shigeru Saito who works for Nuclear Fuel Transport Co., Ltd. dropped by with a box of paulownia wood. Inside the box was a statue of Buddhabari, which he had carved himself, devoting all his energy to celebrating my award this autumn.

Speaking of Mr. Saito, he is the person who carved the sculpture of Monju Bosatsu, the Monju Bodhissattva , which is in the room to the right of the entrance of the FBR Monju. The man is quiet. He says: "Even now, Monju still lingers in some part of my heart." He has beautiful eyes.

The statue of Buddhabali is 20 centimeters tall, and its stand has the Hannya Shinkyo Sutra carved on its four sides, which are about 10 centimeters high.

I opened a special issue of Japanese Art on Monju Bosatsu, and found in the introduction for the "Bucchou-sonsho-daranikyo" (a Dharani Sutra which emerged from the top of Buddha's head), which they say was translated by Buddhabali, the following legend:

Buddhabali, born to the Brahman caste, traveled vast distances from the west and entered the Wutaishan mountains in China in the year 676. He wanted to see the divine figure of Monju Bosatsu leading the saints after the nyorai or tathagata entered Nirvana. He was praying toward the mountaintop when an old man appeared from nowhere, saying to him, "You, as a Brahman adores the way of Buddha with all your heart, and have come such a long way to visit this ruin, have spared no effort. The only thing that can eradicate the evil deeds of men is the "Bucchou- sonsho-daranikyo" (the Dharani Sutra which emerged from the top of Buddha's head). I want you to take this sutra with you, and teach it widely to save the people."

Thus, Buddhabali took the Sutra home in 683. Because of his achievement, he became one of the five saints lead by Monju.

A wooden figure of Buddhabali shows deep horizontal lines on his forehead. Wrinkles about his eyes look like he is in pain. He holds a priest's staff firmly in his right hand, exposing bare skin from his right shoulder to his skinny chest. It clearly expresses the hardships of his journey as a seeker of the truth.

I placed it on the desk. As I look at his face quietly, I can feel an elevated dignity that pierces through me.

The author Mr. Kohei Hata wrote that he was deeply moved while reading "The Rise and Fall of the Tree Kingdoms" by the delicate offense and defense during the battles between the strong and the weak through the swirl of villainous warlords, strategists, government officials, soldiers, and common people in the story, and, of course, the main characters Ts'ao Ts'ao, Liu Pei, and Sun Ch'uan. (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, October 6, 1996)

Mr. Hata said that strangely enough, he could feel the poetry of the story which carries unexpected hopes, not the expected despair or disappointment.

He concluded as follows:

－That this poetry will be washed away by death is without exception. It makes me believe that death is nothing more than a poem, and that history is written and handed down in this fashion.

The stories of war are not the only examples. Taking the history of nuclear energy development, it seems that many people have followed the rugged path of great hardship with unswerving faith just as did Buddhabali. We will find romance and poem in the history.

(December 1998)

(Former Member of the House of Representatives)

[Back to No.24 Contents]

Mar. 23 1999 Copyright (C) 1999 Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle Beautiful Mountains - Excellent Water - Fabulous Local Products on the Roads of Wakasa -- And NPSs along the Scenic Shores

Ohi Nuclear Power Station

When the clear blue sky, azure seas, and green leaves of the mountains of summer have passed, and Kanto Plain residents can see a snow-capped Mt. Fuji in the distance of late autumn, snow starts to dust Mt. Aoba, also known as Wakasa Fuji, and its glorious fall foliage as winter on the Japan Sea arrives in the Wakasa area. This is the season when fishing for crabs and plaice begins.

The seas of Wakasa are famous for their local plaice and sea bream. The Jakutan Mountains along the Hakusan volcanic zone run close to the seashore. The Roads of Wakasa feature a variety of historic and scenic Japanese landscapes as they run between the small seashore basins here and there between these mountains and the plain. These roads were also known as the 'sea road' and 'salt road' that connected Kyoto and Nara, cities in the Kinai region, with the districts along the shore of the Japan Sea, with Hokkaido, and with the distant Asian continent. Wakasa Bay, located on the northern side of the middle of the crescent shape of the Japanese Islands, was created when mountaintops subsided into the ocean. As a result, the coast along Wakasa Bay is the only example of Rias coastline along the Japan Sea. About 200 kilometers of coastline from Ama-no-Hashidate in Tango, Kyoto Prefecture to Kehi-no-Matsubara in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture has been set aside as the Wakasa Bay Quasi-National Park. Here is an abundance of natural beauty in the sea and mountains, notably the cliffs of Sotomo in Obama Bay, and Otomi of Uchiura Bay, and the myrica trees clustered on Mt. Aoba.

The Wakasa district has been a center for traffic and distribution from ancient times, serving as the entrance from Kinai region to the Province of Koshi, or today's Hokuriku district. As early as the seventh century, a provincial capital had been built in Obama with a provincial temple established there as well. The district flourished first as private landed estates of Enryakuji, Toji and other prominent temples, aristocrats and other nobility, and later as the Obama clan (han) under the appointments by the Hojo, Ashikaga, Takeda, Oda, and Tokugawa leaders. Following the establishment of the prefectural system of local government in the Meiji era, this area began as Obama prefecture, then changed names to Tsuruga prefecture, later becoming Shiga prefecture, with the name Fukui prefecture now used to unify the provinces of Echizen and Wakasa. Even now, the dialect heard in Wakasa retains resemblance to those spoken in Kyoto and Osaka.

For over one thousand years, Wakasa has escaped any large-scale wars. The number of temples per capita is greater than for any other Japanese area, and many national treasures and important cultural properties are found here, including historic and cultural heritage sites, as well as folk art. Wakasa is also called a "Nara with an ocean front," and it is a place of culture and tourism with a quiet atmosphere. It is said that the Obama Wakasa-hiko - Wakasa-Hime Shrine was built in 715 A.D. It enshrines Hikohoho-demi, the mountain god Yama-hiko, who came to Wakasa in search of his elder brother Umi-hiko's fishing hook, and Toyotama-Hime, also referred to as Oto-Hime of the Sea God's Palace, who was a goddess of the sea. When the mountain god saw the sea for the first time, he said, "Umashi, Ohama" or "beautiful shore." This is the legend of the origin of the name of Obama Bay.

Flowing along the middle of the Japan Sea, the warm Tsushima Current moving eastward must make a great turn north here along the Japanese Islands, and branch currents mix with the colder Riman Current and flow into first Wakasa, then Obama Bays, making these treasure-houses of marine products. Mackerel, sea bream, and plaice from these bays, as well as kelp (kombu) brought by the Matsumae trading ships from the northern seas near Hokkaido, were transported from here to Kyoto in just one day via the Wakasa Road, also called the Mackerel Road. People at that time said that Kyoto was far off, but actually it is only 13 ri, or about 52 kilometers. The name Wakasa became a brand name of treasured value, as seen in the names Wakasa Sea Bream, Wakasa Plaice, and Wakasa Kelp. At the Imperial Court, the Wakasa province was also referred to as Miketsu-Kuni, or "province of food" since the fabulous local produce of this region adorned the gourmet tables of the ancient aristocrats, a major portion of whose diet consisted of marine products.

The natural waters of Wakasa are of such fame and quality that they are used for divine Shinto services. Legend has it that the "Wakasa-I," or "Well of Wakasa," at Nara's Todaiji Temple, and "U- no-Se," or "Cormorant Rapids" on Obama Shrine's Onyu River, are connected, and that the sanctified water used for Shinto water-sending ceremonies at "U-no-Se" in February will travel 100 kilometers southward and reach Nara in about ten days. These ceremonies have been conducted every year for 1,200 years, sending water from the rivers of Wakasa and drawing these waters of Wakasa from the well of the Nigatsudo ("Second-Month") Temple at Todaiji Temple. There are numerous natural spring waters in Wakasa recognized among the 100 famous waters of Japan, including the "Uriwari- no-Taki," or Melon-Breaking Waterfall, the water of which is said to be so pure and cold that it will break a melon, which is found on the grounds of Tentokuji Temple in Kaminaka-cho. A glass of this water you may drink in the coffee shops in that town will leave a lingering sweet after-taste.

Obama Bay is located in the center of the larger Wakasa Bay, and is enveloped by the outer and inner Oshima peninsulas, shaped like a crab stretching out its arms. The Ohi Nuclear Power Station operated by the Kansai Electric Power Co. is located on the west side of Obama Bay, on the tip of the Ohshima Peninsula.

Wakasa's Nuclear Power Stations Supply Electricity to the Whole Kinki Area

The Kansai Electric Power Co. supplies an annual electric output of 140,000 GWh to six prefectures in Kinki area, including the Keihanshin industrial sector, the economic center of western Japan. The Ohi, Takahama, and Mihama nuclear power stations run by Kansai Electric are located along the shores of Wakasa Bay, and take advantage of both the solid bedrock of the Rias coast on which they stand and the geographical advantage of proximity, as the distance that electricity must be sent to reach the Kansai area is comparatively short. The Ohi Nuclear Power Station is the largest of the three stations, with a total annual electric output of about 35,000 GWh, while the Takahama Station generates about 24,000 GWh, and the Mihama Station about 13,000 GWh. These nuclear power stations in the Wakasa Bay area provide an annual electric output of about 72,000 GWh, and account for half of the entire annual electric power supplied by Kansai Electric Power Co.

At the Ohi Nuclear Power Station site, construction of Units 1 and 2, which are pressurized light water reactors with an output of 1,175 MW, began in October and November 1972. Commercial operations started seven years later, in March and December 1979 respectively. Units 3 and 4, with an output of 1,180 MW, started commercial operations later on, in December 1991 and February 1993. The output of each of these units (1, 2, 3, and 4) exceeds 1,100 MW, which makes the facility site a huge electricity generation plant with a total output of 4,710 MW. The site supplies electricity to meet the demand of the Fuel Pool Kinki area by maintaining high capacity factor of 70% since its inauguration. Because the Ohi Nuclear Power Station is located inside a quasi- national park, it has been designed to blend in with the natural surroundings, the beautiful sea and green mountains. The Power Station has been built to avoid damaging, and to harmonize visually with, the surrounding natural environment with its placement of units in a compact row in a narrow valley between the mountains along the subsided coast on the tip of the peninsula. Units 1 and 2 use ice condenser systems, and Units 3 and 4 use prestressed concrete systems which minimize the size of the facility by enabling small containment buildings. The cooling water is discharged through a wave- absorbing breakwater in order to avoid problems with the diffusion of thermal discharge from the power station. In addition, five seawater desalination units with a daily capacity of 1,300 tons supply water to the power station, because there is no source of water on the peninsula.

At the Ohi Nuclear Power Station, there is a "see- through" visitors' walkway which actively opens the facility to the public and serves the visitors' convenience. The visitors go through the gate at the guard's office for Units 3 and 4, get off the bus at the visitors' entrance to the power station, and can observe the designated area without changing clothes. At the fuel storage pool, visitors can see up close the used fuel in storage through a window of 25-centimeter-thick lead glass which was specially made by a camera equipment manufacturer. In the turbine hall, visitors can 24 hours in the Day of the enjoy a bird's-eye view of the two gigantic and Operators of Units 3 and 4 magnificent turbines which generate 2,360 MW of electricity. The central control room can be observed through a 2-meter-high glass that separates that area and the entrance hall. There, thirteen members of the staff are introduced with their friendly, smiling photographs on a panel, but visitors can also see how they seriously work for the safe operation of the facility, day and night, as well as the actual scene of the operation room.

Tourist Center Started from the Construction of These Power Stations

The present population of Ohi-machi is about 7,500. Before the power station was constructed, in about 1970, it was 5,700: a low which has gradually seen recovery to the level of about 1955 when the town and village were unified. Ohshima Peninsula was isolated from the rest of the community for a long time, with the only transportation a ferry boat link. But following the construction of the power station, the Aoto Bridge that spans astride an inlet of Obama Bay was completed in June 1974, and the economy and lives in Ohi-machi have greatly expanded. A new type of fishing industry that utilizes warmed cooling water from the power station to breed swellfish, sea bream, flounder and others has been developed and taking root. The infrastructure has been improved to include full water supply, as well as a sewage system and cable television. The Obama Line opened rail service in 1921, and played an important role in the economic growth and tourism of the district for many years, but the single-track diesel line failed to draw the young of today who were accustomed to the Shinkansen super express trains and highways. Electrification of the railway and improvement of the automotive infrastructure, including highways on the Wakasa Road, have been the hopes of the local people for many years. Construction of the Tsuruga Line on the Kinki Motorway, connecting the Kinki Motorway through Maizuru and the Hokuriku Motorway through Tsuruga is currently under way, Ice Used in Ice Condensers and the road between Maizuru and Ohi-machi will open roughly five years from now. Once it is open, it will take less than two hours from Keihanshin to Ohi, in contrast to the three hours now required. A campaign is being held at the power station to encourage railway commuting in support of the electrification of the Obama Line.

Ohi-machi has several urban development plans underway, which make use of the rich natural environment of Wakasa Bay and the tourist potential of its historic heritage to achieve "A town where people live with hospitality and confidence." A waterfront project called the "Coastal Resort Project" is also under way, aiming to build resort facilities with urban cultural functions through a combination utilizing the Aoto Bridge, a construction road for the power stations, and the nearby seashores. One of the pilot projects Inspecting Unit 2 Where all Fuel Are Removed is known as "Play Park Ohi," an athletic park which was completed in 1994, and will be followed by the construction of the "Wakasa Ohi Marine World," a large-scale marine resort center equipped with marina, park, museum, hotel, artificial beach, and many others features. This project is scheduled for completion together with the completion of the Ohi interchange on the Kinki Motorway. Other facilities such as "Kinoko-no-Mori," or Forest of Mushrooms featuring mushrooms, a local speciality, and the Auto Camping Ground on Akasho Misaki on the tip of the peninsula, are being developed to make the most of the local features.

In conjunction with the wide-area improvement of infrastructure such as highways and electrification of railways, there are cultural and economic plans for the town as well. Long-term and diversified local development projects are in progress in Ohi-machi, and all are based on the safe operation of the nuclear power station, and the trust and peace of mind of the local residents.

Wakasa Bay in ancient times provided the capital with food, and now the area supplies energy to the Keihanshin area, in support of the heavy industries and economy of the area. Nuclear power stations requiring small sites and emitting no exhaust gasses are appropriate, as they preserve the natural landscape and protect the environment. The mission of these nuclear power stations located inside the natural park in Wakasa is to keep radioactivity contained and at the same time to continue their reliable operations, with no troubles and accidents. That is the best way to protect and coexist with the unchanging culture and nature of the Wakasa area, as it has existed from ancient times.

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Mar. 23 1999 Copyright (C) 1999 Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle Letter

Moscow at the End of 1998

Norihiko Yokoyama

ISTC, Moscow

Like in Japan, there are a lot of sayings in Russia which reflect the changing climate during four seasons of the year. Such one as "Abundant mountain ash berries predict a cold, severe winter (God's favor for birds not to starve!)" or "Forty days after the first snow comes the first cold snap (moroz)" came true this year. The first snow fell in Moscow on October 1, and the first cold wave hit Moscow on November 10, just after forty days. Toward the end of the month the lowest temperature reached less than 20 degrees below zero (about minus 5 in Fahrenheit), the record since the official observation started. According to the long-term weather forecast, warm winter of Japan which has been continuing for ten years has come to an end and this winter would be a "normal" one in Japan.

The same tendency is observed in Russia. Anticipation of the real cold of January and February causes concern. However, when it is about ten to fifteen degrees below zero, like most of Muscovites I feel the real charm of the Russian winter. Under a high pressure, the clear sky creates such marvelous circumstance where you can see even diamond dusts. I go out for early morning walks four to five times per week and, when I happen to walk in such marvelous weather condition, the high mood continues all day long and affect favorably to the behavior of the day. This is the beginning of the sixth consecutive winter for my Moscow life with the ISTC and the fifteenth winter since my first arrival in Moscow in 1963. To overcome the cold, dark and long season, it is necessary to find silver lining in everyday life.

Similar to the weather, the Russian economy is in a very severe, critical shape which started all of a sudden (so it seems) in the middle of August with the devaluation of ruble and the moratorium for foreign debts. It is very difficult to foresee the future and say something with confidence. As I reported for this journal a year ago, the year 1998 started in a very good atmosphere, with the denominated ruble which had almost same value as French franc and with the 1997 GDP showing growth first time since the breakdown of the Soviet Union. However, the public finance relied on too easy a way, financing the huge budgetary deficit by short-term bonds. Negative signs were already reported since May such as sharply rising interest rate. In short, it was the burst of the Russian-style bubble.

Many commercial banks which sprang out, like mushrooms after a rain, with the emerging market economy, danced around the short-term bonds and after a feast they faced huge debts as the result of un-honored loans or future foreign exchange commitments. Negotiations on the restructuring of these debts are going on but, if the outcome is negative and foreign assets of these banks are seized, many of them will become bankrupt. This Russian bubble has created sizeable side effects, many Japanese, European and American financial institutions were badly affected as the result of speculation and some of them came to a brink of bankruptcy. Even such an official institution as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), though not as a result of speculations, was forced to write off about thirty million dollars invested in Russian commercial banks, a symbol of the overall picture.

In Russia, many banks have been operating not based on the real economy but in a virtual world. Collapse of some banks has less negative effect to the economy compared to Japan. But in any way they fulfill to some extent the function of blood supplier to the real economy which receives negative impact from their collapse. In addition, the destabilization of ruble is affecting the life seriously. The value of rouble dropped very sharply to a forty percent level from its pre-crisis one within three weeks and then started the slower decline, becoming just one third worth in the beginning of December.

Prices are affected in various ways. Imported goods became more expensive than before even in terms of dollar because the spread between the selling and buying rates became very large due to increasing risk. I am of opinion that the culture of a country is condensed in the relation to automobiles. In this case, the prices of gasoline reflect the overall prices including Russian made goods. A-92, the most popular type of gasoline with the octane value of 92, was sold at rouble 2.00 - 2.10 before the crisis and the price in the December was rouble 2.80 - 3.20, that means about 40 to 50 percent of rise. This figure can be said to represent the overall inflation resulting from the crisis.

All in all, it can be said that one half of the efforts spent during seven years of reform were written off. At the other hand, nonperishable products such as flour, oil, which disappeared from shelves of shops returned there very quickly. This implies that the infrastructure for the market economy developed during the reform period remains functioning. The manufacturing which has been cornered by import gains competitiveness because of rouble devaluation which in its turn will have favorable effects on the economy.

We have observed many phenomena in Russia which are very similar to those in Japan. They include meltdown of bubble, lack of true initiative on the side of the parliament and government, constituency's interest first rather than the national interest and so on. Is it a mere coincidence that the foreign ministers became Prime Ministers in both countries. The bright side is that aside from the capability as a statesman, many Russian politicians talk about the culture and history with enthusiasm, which impresses us very much.

The negative background of the Russian economy influences activities At the house where Tolstoy of the ISTC to a certain extent. However, the banks through which the was born. ISTC operates were not so much involved in the bubble and, consequently, the ISTC suffers very little from the crumbling banking system. On the contrary, many contractual operations are based on dollar, including payments of grants to project participants, who can get benefits from the weakening rouble. In this sense, the ISTC is increasing raison d'etre for those participants-scientists.

The seventeenth Board meeting took place in Yerevan, capital of Armenia, in the beginning of November. Since its establishment in March 1994, this was the first meeting held outside Moscow, a big event for us. Yerevan was chosen as Armenia became the Board member and a branch office of the ISTC was opened in Yerevan this year. The Republic of Korea which recently became the ISTC member country declared at this meeting of its decision on the financing of several projects, the first occasion for this country.

Known very little to most of the Japanese, Armenia was the first country that accepted Christianity as the state religion and suffered bloodshed tragedy of genocide by Turkey and others. There are about 3.5 million of population but much more Armenians live abroad. About 1.2 million Armenians are living in the United States, with California having the largest Diaspora. They may have certain influence in some electoral constituencies. Historically, Russia played the role of a protector and, in contrast to some Caucasian nations (Chechnia is typical example), maintained a good relation with Armenia. The country has produced a lot of prominent artists, scholars and politicians, Khachaturyan, Aivazovskii, Mikoyan brothers are among them.

However, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, its main industries such as synthetic rubber production, electronics, etc., lost their market and have broken down as well. With no emerging industry which may replace the lost and as a result of the nationalistic conflicts with neighboring Azerbaijan, the economy of Armenia is far from the situation enabling the taking off.

Mounts Ararat, very famous for a legend of the Noah's ark, are located only forty kilometers from Yerevan and are closely identified with Armenia. However, the reality which symbolizes the national tragedy is that these mountains are about twenty kilometers inside Turkey. Armenia is located at the latitude of forty degrees and has rather mild climate due to the Caucasus on the north which bars bitter cold winds from Russia. Average annual precipitation is 350 millimeters, and there are 300 fine days per year. Under these favorable conditions given by the nature and in view of highly educated nationality, once a trigger is given, the economy may have big potential of fast take off. After the earthquake of 1988, the nuclear station had been closed for a long period and the country suffered terrible shortage of power supply. Citizens got electricity only for two hours a day. About two years ago, one block of the station resumed the operation and the power supply recovered to the normal level so far. The solar battery system of large scale may be a realistic alternative for this country because of the duration of sunshine.

About sixty new projects were approved for funding at the Yerevan Board meeting of the ISTC, bringing the accumulative total number to about 650 projects with the aggregate cost of two hundred million dollars. Compared to the United States and European Union, Japan has been lagging behind as far as the funding amount is concerned because, to a large extent, the not well functioning economy has negative effect on the public finance. However, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi visited Russia officially in the middle of November (there has been no official visit of our Prime Minister since that of Mr. Kakuei Tanaka in 1973). The Japan and Russia joint statement resulting from this visit emphasized the development of science and technology exchanges between the two countries using the ISTC as a tool. Thus the ISTC is acknowledged as a useful leverage for Russia and Japan. In line with this, it is expected for some additional resources to be infused.

The ISTC finances ITER or Spring-8 related projects, thus contributing to the national projects. The Hitachi and Mitsubishi groups, Marubeni and others have joined the ISTC as Partners. Some of them have already started the implementation of projects. In addition, Programs funded by Japan enjoy good reputation. The Promising Research Abstract Program which disseminates promising research items in the CIS countries is highly evaluated by the US and EU as a means to promote a clearing house function; the Japan Workshop program is another example. The number of Japanese staff working at the ISTC has increased to five persons which are comparable to six of the United States and eight of the EU.

At present, many agencies of the US government have assistance programs for Russia which can not be always implemented smoothly as far as they are based on a bilateral arrangement. The ISTC is viewed as a useful vehicle to overcome hurdles and some projects intermediated by the ISTC will start in the beginning of 1999. The United States and Russia signed the Nuclear Cities Initiative in September 1998. This program directly targets ten closed cities such as Arzamas-16, Chelyabinsk-70, etc. and will handles extensive issues connected with the conversion of these cities. About fifty million dollars will be injected during the first year. A representative of the DOE made presentation of this program at the ISTC Board meeting. There are many points common to the ISTC and a close cooperation between the two programs is expected.

The ISTC has created the web-site and, if you access www.istc.ru, you can have extensive information of ISTC activities. Various data, including the above-mentioned Promising Research and Japan Workshop, are being updated constantly though some of the data are on the way of making and we need some more time to complete them.

The ISTC will become five year old in March 1999. Many scientists in Russia and other CIS countries still need this kind of support. The ISTC is shifting its stress toward assistance to self-sustainable projects which would enable scientists to receive cash flow even after completion of projects. Such an approach, in its turn, will bring certain fruits of investment to the western countries as well.

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Mar. 23 1999 Copyright (C) 1999 Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Major Nuclear Developments in Japan

－ Review of 1998 －

JANUARY

- Under the joint auspices of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and the Science and Technology Agency (STA), sessions of the "Forum to Discuss Pu-thermal (plutonium-thermal)" were held in Fukushima and Niigata prefectures to enhance the local residents' understanding of the pu-thermal program (utilization of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel in light-water reactors), which will burn MOX fuel, planned for a 1999 initiation by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO).

FEBRUARY

- Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO) submitted a petition for a preliminary agreement with Fukui Prefecture and Takahama-machi (town), regarding the pu-thermal program to start at its Takahama Power Station. The program will start at Unit 4 in 1999, and Unit 3 in 2000.

- The Governments of Japan and the U.K. revised the "Agreement between Japan and the U.K. on Cooperation for Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy," stating that nuclear materials shall be used only for peaceful non-explosive purposes.

MARCH

- The Panel on Spent Fuel Storage Measures drawn up by MITI's Agency of Natural Resources and Energy, and the STA and the electric power industry, completed a report claiming that it was necessary to build storage facilities outside their power station sites by the year 2010 to store spent fuels produced at nuclear power stations.

- Commercial operation of the Tokai Power Station, operated by the Japan Atomic Power Co., and the first commercial nuclear reactor in Japan, ended after 31 years and 8 months. During this time, the reactor generated a rough total of 29,000 GWh of electric power, over 215,320 hours, and the average time availability factor reached 77.5%. This station brought about various achievements as the forerunner of other commercial power reactors. Its fuel will be removed over the following three and a half years, and transported to the reprocessing plant in England.

APRIL

- To prepare for the start of the pu-thermal program at Unit 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which is scheduled in 1999, TEPCO held a "Pu-thermal Explanation Meeting" to promote understanding among the people of Fukushima Prefecture, where the station is located.

MAY

- The Atomic Energy Commission's (AEC) Special Committee on the Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste completed its final report, suggesting the establishment of an operational entity which operates on a private basis, the cost of which would be included in the electricity rates, and that any disposal sites should be determined by public offerings applications.

- In relation to the pu-thermal program by KEPCO for Units 3 and 4 at the Takahama Power Station scheduled to start next spring, Yukio Kurita, the governor of Fukui Prefecture, submitted an application for a permit to change the mode of reactor operation.

JUNE

- The Energy Supply and Demand Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee for Energy, an advisory body to the head of MITI revised the "Long-Term Energy Supply and Demand Outlook" for the first time in four years, aiming to reduce final energy consumption in 2010 by 400 million kiloliters calculated in terms of crude oil.

- The Nuclear Power Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee for Energy run by MITI completed their report targeting the realization of "interim storage of spent fuel" away from their sites. It also suggested that spent fuel should be defined as "recyclable fuel resources," or useful resources containing plutonium, etc.

JULY

- The three parties: the Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL), Aomori Prefecture, and Rokkasho-mura, together suspended their safety agreement concerning 100 units of spent fuel to be brought to the Rokkasho-mura Reprocessing Plant being constructed by JNFL for testing.

- Following the underground nuclear tests by India and Pakistan, which took place in May, the Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle (CNFC) held an Ad-Hoc Symposium: "What Can We Do about Order of Southwest Asia and the World?," and presented an urgent proposition "For the Promotion of Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament" to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura. This proposition was mailed to such government leaders as presidents and prime ministers of 193 countries and regions, including the 187 members of the United Nations (see Autumn 1998 No.23 issue of Plutonium).

AUGUST

- Prime Minister Obuchi delivered a general policy speech, stating that "the Government of Japan would take initiatives" in maintaining and strengthening nuclear non-proliferation structures, promoting nuclear disarmament, and taking realistic measures to accomplish a nuclear-free world. - The first meeting of the international forum, "Emergency Action Conference on Nuclear Non- proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament," proposed by the Japanese government to protest the nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan. The objectives of the forum is to make a proposal one year later, regarding the promotion of nuclear non-proliferation and the nuclear disarmament, based on the discussions among experts from 16 countries on disarmament and defense issues.

SEPTEMBER

- The Advisory Committee on International Cooperation run by the AEC completed their final report titled "International Cooperation in Nuclear Energy - The Way Things Should Be and Measures To Be Taken." The report emphasized the importance of continued efforts to strengthen nuclear non- proliferation structures throughout the world.

OCTOBER

- The Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) put an end to its history of 31 years, and restarted as the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC). The new organization is charged with the new missions of establishing the technology for fast breeder reactors and nuclear fuel cycles.

- Partial alteration of data on neutron shielding materials used in the containers to transport spent nuclear fuel was revealed. The result of the research confirmed the safety, but the morals of the nuclear industrial community came into question.

- The Nuclear Power Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee for Energy of MITI indicated that the disposal costs for high-level radioactive waste would amount to 2,700 to 3,100 billion yen assuming that a disposal site with a capacity of about 40,000 units of vitrified waste was found, and made the estimated figures per kWh public for the first time.

- The United States withdrew from the engineering design activities of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). It was confirmed that Japan, Europe, and Russia would take the leadership for these activities.

NOVEMBER

- Fukushima Prefecture indicated their acceptance of the petition for a preliminary agreement submitted by TEPCO concerning the pu-thermal program (adoption of MOX fuel) scheduled to start in 1999 in Unit 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

- The Science Council of Japan indicated that basic notions concerning the future of nuclear power as seen from the standpoint of the council based on drastically changing circumstances, and conditions for nuclear power, and made a proposal. These were published in a report titled "Research and Development on Nuclear Power, Towards the 21st Century." DECEMBER

- The Nuclear Safety Commission gave permission for the pu-thermal program planned by KEPCO for Units 3 and 4 at the Takahama Power Station to begin, based on their conclusion that safety can be insured.

- The first public hearing was held in Oma-machi, Aomori, regarding Unit 1 at the Oma Nuclear Power Station which was scheduled for construction by the Electric Power Development Co. The participants focused on the issues of safety, local promotional measures, etc. since this was going to be the first full MOX fuel reactor in the world. The hearing went well, which was a big step toward starting construction in 2002, and commercial operations in 2007.

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Mar. 23 1999 Copyright (C) 1999 Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle Editor's Postscripts

● Former U.S. Senator John Glenn, who attracted our attention recently as history's oldest astronaut by joining the U.S. space shuttle Discovery mission last fall, was recently asked in an interview in Japan why he went into space. He answered to the effect, "Because I had curiosity, the basis of all progress."

● Our lives have changed greatly due to scientific developments. The starting point for these developments has been, again, the curiosity of scientists. We must not forget that it is this very curiosity of the scientists that we need to bring into action in a substantial way in order to solve the global environmental problems we are now facing. This Council as well, feels that we would like to take constructive steps to promote the peaceful uses of plutonium, and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, with due consideration to the ensuing environmental issues.

● We would like to take this opportunity to announce that the Secretary General of this CNFC's office staff has changed over from Mr. Yujiro Kodama to Ms. Chiemi Haga. We wish to ask our readers to support and cooperation.

(Editorial Staff)

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Mar. 23 1999 Copyright (C) 1999 Council for Nuclear Fuel Cycle