The Japanese refuse to call them carriers.
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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Japan's Top Court Gives OK To Reopen Monju Fast Breeder Reactor |
| 2005-05-31 |
| Japan's Supreme Court on Monday gave the green light to reopen an experimental reactor opposed by residents on safety concerns, in a landmark ruling on the country's nuclear energy program. The Monju nuclear reactor located in Tsuruga, 350 kilometers (217 miles) west of Tokyo, was a signature of Japan's energy projects until December 1995 when it was closed due to a massive leak of sodium coolant. The Nagoya High Court in January 2003 for the first time ordered the closure of a Japanese reactor, siding with a lawsuit filed before the accident by local people who wanted Monju shut down due to fears of a meltdown. But the Supreme Court backed the government which said it has taken sufficient measures to ensure safety at Monju, administered by the government-run Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute. "We cannot say that there were mistakes or oversights in discussions on safety measures or decision-making," the supreme court ruled. "Therefore, we cannot say it is unconstitutional and we cannot nullify its approval," the court said. The six billion-dollar, 280,000-kilowatt "fast-breeder" reactor designed to produce more plutonium than it consumes has been emblematic for Japan, which relies heavily on nuclear energy due to its lack of natural resources. Even ahead of the Supreme Court ruling, local government authorities citing the economic impact of the plant had approved a plan to repair it and resume operation in 2008. "The ruling means confirmation that safety inspections were proper," said Yuichi Tonozuka, head of the nuclear institute. "We are determined to do our best to resume operation." But residents said the ruling had done nothing to ease their worries. "There will undoubtedly be problems if they try to operate it," the plaintiffs' lawyer, Yuichi Kaido, told a news conference. "When that happens, it is the Supreme Court that will be put to shame." No one was injured in the 1995 incident and no radiation was leaked, but the public was outraged after workers and officials involved in the project allegedly lied by hiding a video recording of the accident. Concerns about safety at nuclear reactors grew further after five workers were killed in the nation's worst nuclear accident in 2004 at Mihama nuclear plant just 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away from Monju. Japan's nuclear energy reliance hit a peak of 36.8 percent for the year to March 1999 but plunged to some 25 percent in 2003 after power firms temporarily shut down reactors for emergency check-ups following accidents and cover-up scandals. But the use of nuclear energy climbed back up to 29.1 percent in the year to March 2005 and the government has set a goal of 41 percent in 2010. Currently, 54 nuclear reactors are operating in Japan to provide electricity. Japan's insistence on the fast-breeder reactor project even after the 1995 accident is at odds with much of the developed world. Major developed countries such as the United States, France and Germany have tried but abandoned the development of the controversial reactors due to huge development costs and concerns about the environment. But India and China, developing countries concerned about a shortage of power in the near future, have both begun planning for the fast-breeders. |
| Posted by:Spavirt Pheng6042 |
| #9 Officially, Japan has no Navy. Its self defense forces have several of these. The Japanese refuse to call them carriers. |
| Posted by: john 2005-05-31 18:27 |
| #8 Japanese Plutonium Program Threatens Nonproliferation Regime, Warn Nobel Laureates and Other Experts UN Delegates Told Reprocessing Plant Could Produce Plutonium for 1,000 Nuclear Bombs a Year --snip-- Despite the fact that Japan has a stated policy of having "no surplus plutonium," at the end of 2003 its plutonium stockpile stood at 40.6 metric tons—enough to construct some 5,000 nuclear weapons. --snip-- "With Rokkasho operational, by 2020 Japan's domestic stock of plutonium could equal the U.S. stockpile of plutonium for weapons," said Frank von Hippel, physicist and professor at the Science and Global Security Program at Princeton. "Separated plutonium poses a risk of theft, and such large stocks would be destabilizing." |
| Posted by: john 2005-05-31 18:11 |
| #7 Glad to hear about them. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-05-31 17:41 |
| #6 Several helicopter carriers that could easily embark VTOL aircraft. |
| Posted by: john 2005-05-31 17:09 |
| #5 and some flat tops the Japanese insist on calling cruisers ? A building? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-05-31 16:45 |
| #4 Japan already has tons of plutonium. Their newly opened reprocessing plant can produce enough plutonium for 1000 bombs per year. If they went nuclear, with their scientific and industrial base, they could easily be the second most powerful nuclear power in a few years. China could never match them. Also, the Japanese Navy far outclasses other asian powers. It has more frigates than the Royal Navy and some flat tops the Japanese insist on calling cruisers. They are in fact small aircraft carriers, able to take Harriers or JSFs. |
| Posted by: john 2005-05-31 15:59 |
| #3 The six billion-dollar, 280,000-kilowatt "fast-breeder" reactor designed to produce more plutonium than it consumes has been emblematic for Japan, which relies heavily on nuclear energy due to its lack of natural resources. Hmm is this the Japaneese way of telling the Chineese to get off their back and chill or China will wake up one morning at the end of the fuel cycle to find out Japan joined the nuclear club and can now match the Chineese MADD style deturence. One thing I like about the new US policy unlike the old one when facing Soviet Union in Europe we are now not letting our allies get off with making us carry all of our water and thiers to the fight. We are pushing Japan and others to stand up themselves to the Chineese not just go socialist and complain while the whole time expecting full well the US military to come to the rescue. |
| Posted by: C-Low 2005-05-31 11:50 |
| #2 Call me pessimistic, but isn't this exactly the sort of thing than always ends with Tokyo being stomped flat by giant rubber monsters? On the other hand, it *will* piss off the Chinese. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2005-05-31 09:28 |
| #1 Should be filed under Signs and Portents (N. Korea Division)? Go for it Japan! I've never heard of "fast breeders," but if it makes more plutonium than it consumes...go for it! And, what's with the bias on that country's WORST nuclear accident killing only 4 people (who were workers, at that). While I grieve for those workers, that, my friend, is no bad accident (in the nuclear world). Heck, here in the red state of Georgia, we had 34 people killed this weekend alone (Memorial Day weekend) in car accidents! That's it...let's ban cars! |
| Posted by: BA 2005-05-31 08:43 |