Japan-U.S. nuclear fuel reprocessing pact automatically renews after 30-year deadline passes

The nuclear pact between Japan and the United States that allows Japan to reprocess spent nuclear fuel and enrich uranium, automatically renewed Wednesday, after Tokyo made no move to end it by Tuesday, the deadline to do so.

The bilateral nuclear agreement, which entered into force in July 1988, had authorized Japan to establish a nuclear fuel recycling system over 30 years to July 2018.

As neither side has sought to review the pact it will remain in force indefinitely, but can be terminated six months after either party notifies the other. Such a notification can be made at any time.

The pact is “part of the foundation of our country’s use of nuclear power” and also “crucial to Japan-U.S. relations,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference Tuesday.

Under Japan’s nuclear fuel recycling system, spent fuel from nuclear reactors is reprocessed to extract uranium and plutonium. These materials are then recycled into fuel called mixed oxide, or MOX, for use in fast-breeder reactors or conventional nuclear reactors.

But uncertainties over the country’s reprocessing program have grown after most nuclear plants in Japan suspended operations amid safety concerns following the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 plant. In December 2016 the government decided to decommission the trouble-prone Monju fast-breeder reactor at the core of the fuel cycle policy.

The U.S. government does not see any immediate need to review the pact partly because of tensions in East Asia, where North Korea is developing nuclear weapons and China is expanding its military, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

Japan possesses 47 tons of plutonium within and outside the country. If it is unable to reduce its stockpile, that may spark concerns in the United States and calls for reviewing the pact may increase.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/01/17/national/japan-u-s-nuclear-fuel-reprocessing-pact-automatically-renews-30-year-deadline-passes/#.Wl9t5PaDPrc

1.This Month

This page has a very useful “SEARCH” function. If you scroll down the right side panel you can use either the categories listed, or the “Search” slot. Type in a name or a place or topic on this slot, and it’s easy to find a related post.

On behalf of the blogger Shaun McGee aka arclight aka Sean Arclight on FB and @Arclight2011 on Twitter, my co-blogger, one of us 3 bloggers of Nuclear news blog (https://wordpress.com/post/nuclear-news.net):

Shaun needs badly to replace his computer, which is kaputt. During the past 8 years he has been unceasingly researching and blogging about worldwide nuclear and about Fukushima, producing quality articles.

Please let’s help him to get a new computer, tip in whatever you can spare him. His paypal connected email is arclight2011@riseup.net for donations.

Advanced thanks, Herve Courtois aka Dun Renard

A good news story: Jay Inslee Is Betting He Can Win the Presidency on Climate Change
The Washington governor believes his focus on the environment will resonate with voters. But can he persuade enough Americans to pay attention to him? EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, The Atlantic JAN 2, 2019 “………When you’ve been working on something for over a decade, and now seeing people awakening to that, it’s just really gratifying and heartening,” the Washington governor recently told me, sitting in his private study on the top floor of the governor’s mansion. When it comes to climate change, there now appears to be “an appetite for someone who has credibility and a long track record and, most importantly, a vision statement. It’s changed to show an opening in a Democratic primary, I believe.”…..

As he did in Washington State, Inslee would propose a mix of government investments and incentives to spur other investment, restrictions on power plants and emissions, and programs to promote R&D and job growth. An endless number of jobs can be created in the climate arena, Inslee says. It’s the way to make a real dent in income inequality and have the Democratic Party bring tangible solutions to communities in rural America that have been left behind……… https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/01/washington-governor-jay-inslee-running-president/579217/

Sizewell Hero

Greta & Svante Thunberg – Straight Talk

Longtime Reporter Leaves NBC Saying Media Is “Trump Circus” That Encourages Perpetual War

EVENT

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will host a live international news conference at 10 a.m. EST/1500 GMT on Thursday, January 24, 2019, to announce the 2019 time of the Doomsday Clock. The news conference will take place at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Watch the announcement live on our website, on our Facebook page, or on Twitter. more https://nuclear-news.net/2019/01/10/the-doomsday-statement-2019-bulletin-of-the-atomic-scientists/

The Nuclear Resister – Nonviolent Resistance for a Peaceful and Nuclear-Free Future

Accidents Can Happen. Voices of Women from Three Mile Island https://www.accidentscanhappenthefilm.com/

A Good News Story: A Surge of Climate Lawsuits Targets Human Rights, Damage from Fossil Fuels Cities, states and the fishing industry want courts to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for global warming. Others argue government inaction violates rights.BY NICHOLAS KUSNETZ “….The past year saw a surge in new lawsuits filed against fossil fuel companies, and major developments in cases pressing governments for action in the United States and abroad.”

“Lawsuits, even if unsuccessful, can help shape public opinion,”

“Mr. Scopes lost the monkey trial, but it led to a lot more awareness about the issue of teaching evolution.”

In Colombia and the Netherlands, citizens won rulings in 2018 ordering their governments to cut emissions and protect forests. By framing climate change in terms of human rights, those cases and similar ones filed in the U.S. and other countries are transforming how the courts address the issue………. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04012019/climate-change-lawsuits-2018-year-review-exxon-fossil-fuel-companies-human-rights-children-government

Why it’s time to think about human extinction | Dr David Suzuki

No Arctic Sea-Ice; Greenland Exposed; Coast is Toast; Jet Streams Kaput

Arctic Summer Temperatures to Skyrocket like a “Bat out of Hell”: Part 3

nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope