Two local entities will give the central government the green light to conduct safety checks at the fast-breeder reactor.

The Asahi Shimbun

June 5, 2001

The prototype Monju fast-breeder nuclear reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, will undergo central government safety checks after the Fukui prefectural government and the Tsuruga municipal government decided to approve them.

Fukui Governor Yukio Kurita and Tsuruga Mayor Kazuharu Kawase agreed to allow the inspection Monday, bringing the reactor a step closer to resuming operations.

Kurita will inform the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNCDI), which operates Monju, of the decision today.

The central government fears the nation's nuclear cycle development policy was jeopardized by a series of recent setbacks and has pressed the local governments to consent to checks, sources said.

The reactor, which was once at the center of the government's nuclear-cycle development policy, closed in December 1995, after a sodium leak damaged the project's credibility. Sodium is used as coolant in the reactor.

The pluthermal project, in which plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel is fed into ordinary nuclear reactors, took over, but also has run into difficulties.

At a May 27 referendum in Kariwa, Niigata Prefecture, residents voted against a plan to use MOX fuel at a local plant.

The fast-breeder reactor runs on plutonium extracted from spent fuel from regular nuclear reactors. It produces more plutonium than it consumes.

For Monju to resume operations, the reactor must undergo a series of central government safety checks, which last about one year.

If it passes the inspections, the JNCDI will carry out renovations to prevent another sodium leak.

But despite the decision, it could still be some time before Monju gets the all-clear to reopen.

Consultations between local governments are required at the start of renovations and there would also be an additional central-government inspection before operations resume.

Kurita and Kawase agreed during Monday's meeting to further discussions on whether to allow the government to renovate the plant. They also said they would discuss whether Monju should resume operations if it gets the green light.

The pair emphasized that although they have agreed to allow the inspection, it is not the same as agreeing to resume operations.

Fukui prefectural officials also plan to conduct an independent safety check to decide whether to agree to the renovations.

The JNCDI called on Fukui Prefecture and Tsuruga City to agree to government safety checks in December.

Kurita and Kawase were quick to agree to the plan, but the announcement was postponed because some Fukui prefectural assembly members demanded steps be taken to promote the local economy in return.

Liberal Democratic Party prefectural assembly members have handed Tokyo a request that suggests the creation of new subsidies for the area.