EDITORIAL: Monju back in business

The Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor, which was shut down in December 1995 after sodium leaked from the cooling system, is set to resume operations in May.

Fukui Governor Issei Nishikawa signaled his willingness to approve reactivation of the experimental reactor, located in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, during a meeting Monday with science and technology minister Tatsuo Kawabata and industry minister Masayuki Naoshima.

Nishikawa came away satisfied with central government assurances to the local community that it would ensure the plant operates safely. The government also promised to promote regional development.

The government had better live up to its pledges on ensuring safety as well as full information disclosure. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency will need to operate the reactor with the utmost care, knowing full well that another accident could lead to the facility being scrapped.

In the 1995 incident, the reactor operator was heavily criticized after it was found to have concealed information about the accident. During the past 14 years or so that Monju has been in limbo, the operator has come under fire for delaying reports on alarm activation incidents and flawed maintenance work.

The agency says it has made an all-out effort to change its ways. If that's the case, it needs to demonstrate its newfound sense of responsibility on a daily basis. Only then will it regain public trust.

It is not a realistic option to keep Monju mothballed for ever. But that does not mean the government should take the project a step further by developing a demonstration reactor.

The government is intent on developing a nuclear fuel cycle that involves reprocessing spent nuclear fuel to extract plutonium for use in reactors. The fast-breeder reactor, which produces more plutonium than it consumes, is one of the key technologies for the cycle.

Under the government's plan, the next stage in the fast-breeder project will be the construction of a demonstration reactor, which is larger than Monju, around 2025. It would be followed by the development of a commercial reactor around 2050.

But the outlook for the plan is bleak, to say the least. Already, many countries have abandoned their own fast-breeder reactor projects. Besides Japan, only China, India and Russia are still actively pursuing the development of this technology.

The technology is also facing headwinds due to concerns about the safekeeping of nuclear materials. Preventing nuclear terrorism was cited as one of the top policy priorities at the Nuclear Security Summit held earlier this month in Washington.

There is growing opposition to any use of plutonium for fear the material could fall into the hands of terrorists.

On the other hand, there could be support for the fast-breeder reactor project from the viewpoint of nuclear power generation; the argument being that since it doesn't emit carbon dioxide, it is good for efforts to stem global warming. But fast-breeder reactor technology, which is beset by safety and cost-efficiency problems, should not be lumped in the same category as ordinary nuclear reactors.

Given the circumstances, the planned resumption of Monju's operations should be separated from debate on the project to build a demonstration fast-breeder reactor. Some 900 billion yen ($9.6 billion) of taxpayer money has already been spent on the construction and operation of the Monju reactor. It will require additional annual spending of about 20 billion yen.

Even larger amounts of money are needed to develop and operate a demonstration fast-breeder reactor. Some say it would make more sense to use that money to develop technology to extract uranium from seawater, for instance.

The government should be flexible and pay attention to the changing times in reaching a decision on whether to enter the next phase.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 27