Cabinet members in charge of atomic energy
policy, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, officially decided to dismantle a
fast breeder reactor, Monju, on Wednesday. Sucking ¥1 trillion of money up from
the people in Japan, Monju will finish its operation without providing with any
sort of outcomes. Nevertheless, the government of Japan still insists on an
unrealistic project called nuclear fuel recycle, hoping to proceed to
developing a FBR on proven level.
Since its first achievement of critical
point in 1994, Monju did work only for 250 days, suffering from unexpected
accidents. After losing public credibility on technology of nuclear energy
caused by the severe accident in First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, Nuclear
Regulation Authority ordered Monju stopping operation in 2013. Frustrated with
consecutive fabrication on data about machines, NRA required the government to
replace owner of Monju. Dismantlement has been inevitable.
According to the plan of the government,
preparation for extracting used nuclear fuel will start in FY 2017, the
extraction will be finished in FY 2022, and the dismantlement will be finished
in 2037. The cost for it will be as high as ¥375 billion. Minister of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Hirokazu Matsuno, ordered Chairman
of Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Toshio Kodama, making detailed plan for
dismantlement by next April.
So, how was the decision made inside the
government? MEXT had been reluctant to kill Monju, which had been their hope
for nuclear fuel recycling project. It was Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry that had been willing to finish the project. Mainichi Shimbun revealed
that the government decided dismantlement of Monju based on a cost estimation
that indicated ¥600 billion of additional spending for resumption of Monju with
requirement of ten-year examination for implementing safety standard of NRA.
Prime Minister’s Official Residence realized that Monju would not achieve
public support.
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