New nuclear-fuel cycle moratorium opposed by Japan

NEW YORK (Kyodo) Japan reiterated Thursday at the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review conference in New York its opposition to the International Atomic Energy Agency chief's proposal for a voluntary moratorium on new nuclear-fuel cycle facilities.

Takeshi Nakane, Japan's delegate to the talks, said Japan believes IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei's proposed five-year moratorium is not appropriate and would probably obstruct the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes under long-term programs.

Speaking at a main committee meeting, Nakane also said full-ranging discussions should be held on the proposal for setting up international management of uranium enrichment and reprocessing facilities, including how it would contribute to the strengthening of the nonproliferation framework.

ElBaradei proposed the moratorium in his speech May 2 at the opening ceremony of the 2005 Review Conference of the NPT.

Japan's Atomic Energy Commission decided last October to keep its current nuclear energy policy of reprocessing spent nuclear fuel to extract plutonium, instead of burying the spent fuel.

A new reprocessing plant at Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, is scheduled to begin operations in 2007. Scientists have said the plant's capacity of extracting about 8 tons of plutonium in a year from spent fuel is enough to make 1,000 atomic bombs.