/ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN 4/ JAPAN: Stop Promoting Nuclear Power, Urge Environmentalists

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Mar 9 1996 (IPS) - Environmental groups are calling on the Japanese government to stop promoting nuclear energy in Asia, pointing to the recent spate of nuclear power accidents in Japan.

The Japanese government sponsored a regional nuclear energy conference here this week to discuss, among others, the construction of new power plants in Asia to meet the fast-growing region’s rising energy demands.

“Japan’s nuclear power industry has developed under the myth that it is economically successful and safe,” says John Willis, a spokesman for Greenpeace Japan. “But, as shown by the major accident at the Monju plant last December, the nuclear programme has some very deep problems and might be nearing its end.”

A sodium leak at the Monju fast-breeder nuclear reactor forced Japanese authorities to shut down the plant for three years. But Willis says repairs could take much longer, and the accident raised the possibility that the plant would not be opened again.

Participants in the nuclear power conference included Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Japan’s nuclear industry, which is monitored by the United States under a post-war agreement, built a nuclear reactor in China three years ago. Japanese companies say Indonesia could be the next target.

Officials at Japan’s Science and Technology Agency, a staunch supporter of the nuclear power industry, said participants would visit Japanese nuclear plants and attend research meetings after the conference to deepen their knowledge on developing nuclear energy in their countries.

Environmental activists warn the proliferation of nuclear plants in Asia poses a serious risk to the environment and to the health of local populations. It also raises the possibility of a dangerous nuclear weapons programme in the region, they say.

Plutonium, a highly toxic fuel used in fast breeder reactors and advanced thermal reactors, is used in the production of nuclear weapons.

Japan has a stockpile of 11 metric tonnes of the radioactive substance. With Monju not in operation, scientists say Japan will have more than 25 tonnes available by the turn of the century.

Willis also stresses that the high costs of building nuclear plants will greatly strain the resources of Asian economies.

He says the region should learn its lesson from the Monju accident. “Asian nations need to leap-frog the failed nuclear experiment and avoid the hassles of high cost, radioactive waste, proliferation, anxieties and accidents,” he says.

Japan is now building a waste reprocessing plant at a projected cost of about 16 billion dollars. The construction costs of a light-water reactor which burns uranium fuel is about 400 million dollars. The Monju plant cost double that figure.

According to the Citizens’ Nuclear Information Network, more than 60,000 nuclear industry workers were exposed to radiation in 1994. More than 88 percent of them are subcontracted workers not protected by labour agreements and company guarantees.

Mika Obayashi, an environmental researcher, says communities living near the plants are not regularly informed about accidents by the nuclear power industry.

The Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Cooperation kept the December Monju leak a secret from the public and the local city authorities for three days.

The incident heightened public opposition to nuclear power in the area, prompting Fukui Governor Yukio Kurita and several other elected officials to write to the Japanese government requesting a review of its nuclear power programme.

Their letters, which were published in Japanese newspapers, point to the “serious anxiety and distrust among the public concerning our country’s nuclear power development”.

But analysts say Japan appears determined to pursue the development of its highly lucrative nuclear power industry.

The growing public opposition at home is prompting Japan to look beyond its shores to the fast-growing economies of Asia which need new power sources to supply their energy needs.

Willis says this week’s conference offered Japan an opportunity to discuss further nuclear agreements with Asian countries, which will then be presented to Washington for approval.

He warns that the agreements do not make the construction companies liable for any accidents, which puts a heavy burden on recipient countries.

There are 50 nuclear power stations in Japan, the majority of which are light-water reactors that generate one-third of the country’s electricity supply.