The Japanese M5 rocket on launch. Capable of being modified into an ICBM
From Australia Fairfax news stable comes this article in April 26, 2008:
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"Between the Pacific Ocean coastline and the rich farmland of Rokkasho, in northern Japan, stands a vast and controversial monument to man's triumph over nature.
"Between the Pacific Ocean coastline and the rich farmland of Rokkasho, in northern Japan, stands a vast and controversial monument to man's triumph over nature.
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The 12.7 trillion yen Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant, which can recycle up to 800 tonnes of nuclear waste a year for reuse, will launch the pacifist nation into a new era of nuclear power when it commences operations in July.
The 12.7 trillion yen Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant, which can recycle up to 800 tonnes of nuclear waste a year for reuse, will launch the pacifist nation into a new era of nuclear power when it commences operations in July.
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Trade Minister Akira Amari has hailed it as "the future" of sustainable energy for Japan, which has virtually no natural resources and takes a third of its energy from 55 nuclear power plants.
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...Unlike Japan's conventional nuclear power plants, the Rokkasho complex will not burn nuclear fuel. Instead, it will recycle it by taking spent fuel from conventional plants and separating out usable elements such as uranium and plutonium from waste. Japan Nuclear Fuel aims to produce as many as four tonnes of recycled plutonium - roughly equal to 500 of the bombs dropped on Nagasaki - for reuse each year.
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Protestors say that because Japan, which has a "no surplus plutonium" policy, has yet to repatriate and use 37 tonnes of plutonium that it sent for recycling at European plants in the 1990s, the facility at Rokkasho is at best a spectacular waste of money and at worst a dubious exercise in building plutonium supplies. As it is, the mechanism needed to convert the plutonium into reusable pellet form will not be ready until 2012."
Protestors say that because Japan, which has a "no surplus plutonium" policy, has yet to repatriate and use 37 tonnes of plutonium that it sent for recycling at European plants in the 1990s, the facility at Rokkasho is at best a spectacular waste of money and at worst a dubious exercise in building plutonium supplies. As it is, the mechanism needed to convert the plutonium into reusable pellet form will not be ready until 2012."
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Comments
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Japan's nuclear capabilities are a future concern for Australia and Japan having access to greater amounts of plutonium are a more immediate worry.
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Japan already has a quick nuclear "breakout" capacity in the form of more than 7 tonnes of Plutonium (the nuclear explosive of choice). Japan also has the capability to build ICBM from the existing M5 rocket.
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Japan's currently pacifist constitution has not stopped it from building one of the strongest navies and airforces in the region. The Japanese also suffers the potential threat of North Korea which may eventually a short IRBM flight away. US protection may not be forever so Japan is quietly leaving its own nuclear weapon options open. This may be one reason Japan appears to be willing to wear the environmental risks of operating the Rokkasho plant.
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Pete
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Pete
