KAKUJOHO (Nuclear Information)

2016. 3.28

Open letter to Prime Minister Abe: Stop plutonium separation

To: Mr. Shinzo Abe
Prime Minister of Japan

March 28, 2016

Subject: Call to help strengthen worldwide nuclear security by stopping plutonium separation

We, the undersigned, call on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Government of Japan to make a strong contribution to the Nuclear Security Summit by announcing the indefinite postponement of the operation of the Rokkasho spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant.

At the third Nuclear Security Summit held in The Hague, the Netherlands, in 2014 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Barak Obama announced their agreement to:

“remove and dispose of all highly-enriched uranium (HEU) and separated plutonium from the Fast Critical Assembly (FCA) at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) in Japan.”

They declared that:

“this effort involves the elimination of hundreds of kilograms of nuclear material, furthering our mutual goal of minimizing stocks of HEU and separated plutonium worldwide, which will help prevent unauthorized actors, criminals, or terrorists from acquiring such materials.”

331 kilograms of plutonium from FCA are to be brought to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savanna River Site in South Carolina. According to the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), which operates the FCA, most of the plutonium (236 kg) is originally from the United Kingdom with 93 kg from the U.S. and the rest (2 kg) from France.

While asking the people of South Carolina to accept this material to protect the world from the possibility of theft from the JAEA’s lightly guarded Tokai-mura site, Japan is planning to begin to operate in 2018 its equally insecure Rokkasho Reprocessing plant, which is designed to separate annually up to 8,000 kilograms of plutonium from Japan’s spent nuclear fuel. The plant is currently the only reprocessing plant in a country that does not already possess nuclear weapons.

According to the US National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) Global Threat Reduction Initiative “Removal Program Overview” (December 3, 2014) the 331 kg of plutonium at FCA satisfies the program’s requirements for material to be sent to the United States for disposition, that:

“it must also pose a threat to national security, be susceptible to use in an improvised nuclear device, present a high risk of terrorist threat and have no other reasonable pathway to assure security from theft or diversion.”

While NNSA has been working hard to reduce this danger, it says threats still remain and calls for attention to the world-wide civilian separated plutonium problem emphasizing that:

“Global civilian plutonium inventories have risen sharply over the last 20 years” and that “Further international engagement is needed to stop plutonium accumulation and start drawing down inventories.”

After the 61st Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs, “Nagasaki’s Voice: Remember Your Humanity” (1-5 November 2015, Nagasaki, Japan) the Pugwash Council, sharing the same concern, declared:

“Reprocessing to separate plutonium should end in all countries, including all nuclear weapon countries, whether for energy or weapon purposes...In view of the international security consequences of fuel cycle decisions, countries need to mutually agree to restrictions on their national sovereignty in making nuclear fuel cycle decisions.”

As of the end of 2014 Japan had 47,800 kilograms of separated plutonium: 10,800 kg in Japan, 20,700 kg in UK, and 16,300 kg in France. According to the International Panel on Fissile Material (IPFM) the amount of civilian separated plutonium worldwide as of the end of 2014 is about 270,000 kg. Three nuclear weapons states, France, the U.K., and Russia, and Japan account for most of this separated plutonium. The United States is faced with a difficulty trying to dispose of about 50,000 kg of surplus weapons plutonium. Further accumulation of nuclear-weapon-usable material is a concern for the international society and for Japan’s neighbors, who wonder why Japan is separating such huge quantities of directly weapon-useable material. Separated plutonium is a security risk. If other countries followed Japan’s example, it would increase proliferation risks. In fact, South Korea has been demanding that the United States acknowledge that the ROK has the same right as Japan to separate plutonium.

When Prime Minister Abe and President Obama announced the plan to transfer 331kg of plutonium to the U.S., they went on to:

“encourage others to consider what they can do to further HEU and plutonium minimization.”

At that time, in March 2014, operations at the Rokkasho reprocessing plant were to begin just around the time of the coming Nuclear Security Summit. This would have been a very ironic timing. The date subsequently was postponed to 2018, due to the inability of the plant’s operator to satisfy the new safety rules set by the Nuclear Regulation Authority created after the Fukushima accident. Some might be secretly hoping that this might effectively lower the profile of Japan’s plutonium separation program at a time when Japan’s Government hopes that the U.S. will agree to automatically extend, in 2018, their Agreement of Cooperation on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, which includes the U.S. acceptance of Japan’s right to separate plutonium from spent fuel irradiated in U.S. designed nuclear power plants.

We call on Japan to announce, at the Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Washington DC. March 31-April 1 2016, an indefinite postponement of its plan to start the Rokkasho reprocessing plant in order to further the mutual goal of Japan and the U.S. to minimize global stocks of separated plutonium. That would be a great contribution to the worldwide effort to strengthen nuclear security.

Sincerely yours,

List of Signatories In random order

International organizations 4
　
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW)
　
Colin Archer
Secretary General, International Peace Bureau
Michel Monod
UN Representative in Geneva for the International Fellowship of Reconciliation
Hubert K. Foy
Director, African Center for Science and International Security (AFRICSIS) (Ghana)
USA 47
　
Daryl G. Kimball
Executive Director, Arms Control Association
Kevin Martin
Executive Director, Peace Action
Joe Cirincione
President, Ploughshares Fund
Miles Pomper
Co-Chair, Fissile Materials Working Group*
Frank N. von Hippel
Senior Research Physicist Professor of Public and International Affairs emeritus, Princeton University Program on Science and Global Security, International Panel on Fissile Materials
Lisbeth Gronlund
Co-Director and Senior Scientist, Global Security Program, Union of Concerned Scientists
David Wright
Co-Director and Senior Scientist, Global Security Program, Union of Concerned Scientists
M V Ramana
Princeton University Program on Science and Global Security
Tom Clements
Director, Savannah River Site Watch, South Carolina U.S.A
John Burroughs
Executive Director, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy
Alice Slater
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Damon Moglen
Senior Strategic Advisor, Climate and Energy Program, Friends of the Earth
Edwin Lyman
Senior Scientist, Global Security Program, Union of Concerned Scientists
Thomas B. Cochran, Ph.D.
Former director, Nuclear Program, Natural Resources Defense Council
Jungmin Kang
Research Fellow, Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, DC
Zia Mian
Princeton University Program on Science and Global Security, International Panel on Fissile Materials
Gregory Kulacki
Senior Analyst & China Project Manager, Global Security Program, Union of Concerned Scientists
Alan J. Kuperman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin
Cletus Stein
The Peace Farm
Kevin Kamps
Radioactive Waste Watchdog, Beyond Nuclear, Maryland, U.S.A.
Stephen Brittle
President, Don’t Waste Arizona, Phoenix, AZ
Glenn Carroll
Coordinator, NUCLEAR WATCH SOUTH
Donald B. Clark
Cornucopia Network/NJ/TN Chapter, Caney Fork Headwaters Association, Cumberland Countians for Ecojustice, Network for Environmental & Economic Responsibility of United Church of Christ
Alexandra Bryant
Executive Director, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Wisconsin
Nino Amato
President/CEO, Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups
Clay Turnbull
Director, New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution (NEC)
Gary Headrick
Founder, San Clemente Green
Connie Kline
Chair, Ohio CARE - Citizens Against a Radioactive Environment
Ann Suellentrop
Project Director, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Kansas City, U.S.A.
Marylia Kelley
Executive Director, Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment)
Jessie Pauline Collins
Co-chair, Citizens' Resistance At Fermi 2 (CRAFT)
Regina Minniss
Crabshell Alliance, Baltimore Maryland
Al Gedicks
Executive Secretary, Wisconsin Resources Protection Council
Maureen K. Headington
President, Stand Up/Save Lives Campaign
Libbe HaLevy
Producer/Host, Nuclear Hotseat, U.S.A.
Sister Megan Rice
Participant in Transform Now Plowshares' Resistance to US Weapons of Mass Destruction Storage and Production
Dave Kraft
Director, Nuclear Energy Information Service
Donna Gilmore
SanOnofreSafety.org, California, U.S.A.
Henry M. Stoever
Chair, Peace Works, Kansas City, U.S.A.
Terry Lodge
Convener, Toledo Coalition for Safe Energy
John LaForge
Co-Director, Nukewatch, US
Marylia Kelley
Executive Director, Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment) Livermore, CA
Don Hancock
Southwest Research and Information Center, Albuquerque, NM USA
Jacqueline Cabasso
Western States Legal Foundation
Joni Arends
Executive Director, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, Santa Fe, NM
Yuki Miyamoto
Associate Professor, DePaul University
Chiho Kaneko
　
Canada 6
　
Sandra Scriver
Ontario, Canada
Angela Bischoff
Greenspiration, Toronto, Canada
Theresa McClenaghan
Executive Director & Counsel, Canadian Environmental Law Association
Elaine Hughes
Quill Plains Chapter, Council of Canadians
Phyllis Creighton
Member, Canadian Pugwash Group, Adjunct faculty, Faculty of Divinity, Trinity College, Toronto
Elizabeth Gilarowski
Toronto, Ontario
UK 6
　
Gordon MacKerron
Professor of Science and Technology Policy, Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex
Dr. Rebecca E. Johnson FRSA,
Director, Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy
William Walker
Emeritus Professor of International Relations University of St Andrews Scotland, UK
Ian Ralls
Coordinator, Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) Nuclear Network
Martin Forwood
Campaign Coordinator, Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment (CORE)
Dr. Ruth Balogh
Nuclear Issues campaigner, West Cumbria & North Lakes Friends of the Earth, U.K.
Germany 1
　
Shaun Burnie
Senior Nuclear Specialist, Greenpeace Germany
Italy 1
　
Francesco Calogero
Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Rome "La Sapienza" Former Secretary General (1989-1997) and Chairman of Council (1997-2002) of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (Nobel Peace Prize recipient, 1995)
France 1
　
Dr. Serge franchoo
Orsay Nuclear Physics Institute (IPN), CNRS & University Paris-Saclay, France
Sweden 2
　
Henrik Salander
Ambassador, Secretary General, Blix Commission
Dr. Johan Swahn
Director, Swedish NGO Office of Nuclear Waste Review, MKG
Holland 1
　
Peer de Rijk
Director, WISE, World Information Service on Energy
Austria 1
　
Heinz Stockinger
Chair, Salzburg Platform Against Nuclear Hazards (PLAGE)
Bosnia and Herzegovina 1
　
Nataša Crnkovic
President, Centar za životnu sredinu/Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
Czech Republic 1
　
Edvard Sequens
Calla - Association for Preservation of the Environment
Poland 2
　
Ewa Dryjańska
PhD student, Poland
Tadeusz Pastusiak
Ecological - Tourism Association "LUBIATOWSKA WYDMA", POLAND Citizens Committee NOT for ATOM at LUBIATOWO district CHOCZEWO, POLAND
India 2
　
Achin Vanaik
Member of the National Coordinating Committee Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace, India
Sukla Sen
Peace Activist, India
Pakistan 1
　
Abdul Hameed Nayyar
Retired Associate Professor of Physics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad
Australia 5
　
Jim Green
National nuclear campaigner, Friends of the Earth Australia
Dave Sweeney
Nuclear free campaigner, Australian Conservation Foundation
Peter Hayes
Director, Nautilus Institute, Australia *
Richard Tanter
University of Melbourne, Australia *
Dr. Margaret Beavis
President, Medical Association for Prevention of War, Australia
Health Professionals Promoting Peace
New Zealand 1
　
Professor Kevin P Clements
Chair and Director, The National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago.
Republic of Korea 2
　
People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD)
　
Civil Peace Forum
　
Republic of China (Taiwan) 1
　
Gloria Kuang-Jung Hsu
Taiwan Environment Protection Union
Republic of the Philippines 1
　
Corazon V. Fabros
Secretary General, Nuclear Free Philippines Coalition
* signed in a personal capacity
　
Japan 97
　
Hideyuki Ban
伴英幸
Co-Director, Citizens' Nuclear Information Center
原子力資料情報室共同代表
Yasunari Fujimoto
藤本泰成
Secretary General, Japan Congress Against A- and H-Bombs (GENSUIKIN)
日本原水爆禁止国民会議(原水禁）事務局長
Akira Kawasaki
川崎哲
Executive Committee, Peace Boat
ピースボート共同代表
Kazuhiko Tamaki
田巻一彦
President, Peace Depot
ピースデポ代表
Tadatoshi Akiba
秋葉忠利
Co-Chair, Hiroshima Congress against A & H Bombs, Former Mayor of Hiroshima (1999-2011)
広島県原水禁代表委員 前広島市長(1999-2011)
Tatsujiro Suzuki
鈴木達治郎　パグウォッシュ会議評議員、長崎大学
Member of Pugwash Council, Director, RECNA, Nagasaki University
核兵器廃絶研究センター（RECNA） センター長・教授
Terumi Tanaka
田中熙巳
Secretary- General, Japan Confederation of A- and-H bomb Sufferers Organizations
日本原水爆被害者団体協議会事務局長
Haruko Moritaki
森瀧春子
Co-Representative of Hiroshima Alliance for Nuclear Weapons Abolition/ Secretary General, World Nuclear Victims Forum
核兵器廃絶をめざすヒロシマの会共同代表、世界核被害者フォーラム 事務局長
Shoji Sawada
沢田昭二
Professor Emeritus, Nagoya University, Physics (Hibakusha)
名古屋大学名誉教授 物理学、被曝者
Hiromichi Umebayashi
梅林宏道
Special Advisor, Peace Depot Inc., Japan
ピースデポ特別顧問
Tetsuo Kaneko
金子哲夫
Co-Chair, Hiroshima GENSUIKIN/Former Member of the House of Representatives
広島県原水禁代表委員・元衆議院議員
Ikuro ANZAI
安斎育郎
Director, Anzai Science & Peace Office (ASAP), Honorary Professor, Ritsumeikan University, Lifelong Honorary Director, Kyoto Museum for World Peace, Ritsumeikan University
安斎科学・平和事務所所長
Steven Leeper
スティーブン・リーパー
Co-founder Peace Culture Village, Visiting Professor, Hiroshima Jogakuin University, Nagasaki University, Former Chairman of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation
平和の村共同創設者　広島女学院大学・長崎大学客員教授、前広島平和文化センター理事長
Yuzo ITAGAKI
板垣雄三
Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo (Middle Eastern Studies)
東京大学 名誉教授 (中東研究）
Tetsuo Maeda
前田哲男
Journalist
ジャーナリスト
Greenpeace Japan
国際環境NGOグリーンピース・ジャパン

Aileen Mioko Smith
アイリーン・美緒子・スミス
Executive Director Green Action
グリーン・アクション代表
Michiji Konuma
小沼通二
Professor Emeritus Keio University
慶應義塾大学名誉教授
Eiko Kataoka
片岡栄子
Women's Democratic Club, Japan
ふぇみん婦人民主クラブ
Yoshiko Kurita
栗田禎子
Professor, Chiba University
千葉大学教授
Akira Tashiro
田城明
Journalist, Appointed Senior Staff Writer, The Chugoku Shimbun
中国新聞客員特別編集委員
Tetsunari Iida
飯田哲也
Executive Director, Institute for Sustainable Energy Institute
環境エネルギー政策研究所所長
Takahara, Takao
高原孝生
Director, International Peace Research Institute, Meiji Gakuin University
明治学院大学国際平和研究所長
Shoji Kihara
木原省治
Second Generation Hibakusha of Hiroshima, GENPATSU-WA-GOMENDA [We don't want nuclear power plants] Hiroshima Citizens' Group
広島：被爆二世・原発はごめんだヒロシマ市民の会代表
Kanna Mitsuta
満田夏花
Friends of the Earth Japan
国際環境NGO FoE Japan（エフ・オー・イー・ジャパン）
Keiko Nakamura
中村桂子
Associate Professor, Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA)
長崎大学核兵器廃絶研究センター准教授
Masayoshi Naito
内藤雅義
Member of Board of Directors, Japan Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms
核兵器廃絶を目指す日本法律家協会（日本反核法協）理事
Yukio Yokohara,
横原由紀夫
Former Secretary General, Hiroshima Gensuikin
広島原水禁元事務局長
Hisako Sakiyama, M.D.
崎山比早子
Takagi School/ Committee Member, National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation
医学博士 高木学校、東京電力福島原子力発電所事故調査委員会・委員
Katsumi Ito
伊藤かつみ
Women against Nukes, Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan
原発を考える品川の女たち
Ichiyo Muto
武藤 一羊
Board member, People's Plan Study Group
ピープルズ・プラン研究所共同創立者、現運営委員
Kato Kazuo
加藤 一夫
Co-Manager, Bikini Shimin Net Yaizu, Professor emeritus, Shizuoka University of Welfare
ビキニ市民ネット焼津代表幹事、静岡福祉大学名誉教授
Ukai Satoshi
鵜飼 哲
Professor, Hitotsubashi University
一橋大学教授
Teruyuki Matsushita,
松下照幸
CEO, Mountains and Acorns Club Pty. Ltd., Japan
（株）森と暮らすどんぐり倶楽部 代表取締役
Yasuko Yamaguchi,
山口泰子
Women's Democratic Club, Japan
ふぇみん婦人民主クラブ
Sato Daisuke,
佐藤大介
No Nukes Asia Forum Japan
ノーニュークス・アジアフォーラム・ジャパン
Kazumasa Aizawa,
相沢一正
Tokai Anti-nuke Action Study Group, Ibaraki, Japan, former member of the Village Council of Tokaimura
脱原発とうかい塾、前東海村村議会議員
Osami Nomura
野村修身
Doctor of Engineering,
工学博士
Koichi Takitani
滝谷紘一
Member of Citizens’ Commission on Nuclear Energy,
原子力市民委員会メンバー
Yumiko Hirai
平井由美子
Fukushima Accident Emergency Council, Japan
福島原発事故緊急会議
Atsuko Narita
成田篤子
Plaintiffs opposing nuclear fuel cycle
核燃サイクル阻止１万人訴訟団
Tadayoshi Narita
成田忠義
Plaintiffs opposing nuclear fuel cycle
核燃サイクル阻止１万人訴訟団
Kiiti Siratori
白鳥紀一
Former Kyushu University Professor
元九州大学教授
Kawakami, Jumpei
川上純平
Pastor, Coordinator, United Church of Christ in Japan
日本基督教団牧師
Toshio Tani
谷俊夫

　
Kaori Yoshioka
吉岡香織
Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, Japan
原子力資料情報室
Masae Shoda
庄田政江
Licensed guide
通訳案内士
Kazuko Kato
加藤賀津子
Miyamori/630, Japan
宮森・630を伝える会
Yoshiyuki Segawa
瀬川嘉之
Takagi School
高木学校
Yoko Toimiyama
富山洋子

Kazue Tanaka
田中和恵

Yuko Tanaka
田中慶子
　
　
Yukie Kanno, teacher,
菅野幸枝 教員
　
　
Minoru Suda
須田 稔
　
　
Miyuki Iwata
岩田深雪
　
　
Shigeki Konno
紺野茂樹
University Lecturer,
大学非常勤教員
Ohtusuka Aiko
大束愛子
Women's Democratic Club
ふぇみん婦人民主クラブ
Sakuma Yoshimichi
佐久間 義道
Dentist
歯科医師
Takashi Sato
佐藤隆
　
　
UBUKATA Noritaka
生方則孝
Artiste
　
Norika Sora
空里香
Producer, Creative Director Kab America Inc./Kab Inc
プロデューサー、クリエイティブ・ディレクター Kab America Inc./Kab Inc.
Tamiko Nishijima
西嶋民子
Peace Platform
ピース・プラットフォーム
Nozomi Mori
森のぞみ

主婦
Akane Kasuga
春日あかね
English teacher
春日英語教室代表・英語講師
Toshihide Mori
森俊英
Peace Platform
ピースプラットホーム事務局 浄土宗 正明寺 住職
Koji Shiota
塩田耕二

一般市民
Hiroshi HARASHINA
原科浩
Daido University・Professor
大同大学・教授
Toshikuni Takeda
武田利邦
Former English teacher
専門学校教員、元高校教師
Yoko Umekita
梅北陽子
Former candidate for the mayor of Rokkasho Mura village
前六ヶ所村村長選挙立候補者 原子力行政を問い直す宗教者の会世話人
Hideo Tanaka
田中英雄
Kobe Children’s Future
神戸子ども未来舎
Kazutaka Ono
小野和隆
　
　
Eisuke Naramoto
奈良本英佑
Citizens’ Commission on Nuclear Energy
原子力市民委員会規制部会
Yasuto Muramatsu
村松保人
Buddhist temple master
曹洞宗僧侶 住職
Paul McCartin,
ポール・マッカーティン
Catholic priest, Society of St Columban
カトリック司祭 聖コロンバン会
Masatoshi Uchida
内田雅敏
Lawyer
弁護士
Dr. Kazuyo Yamane
山根和代
International Network of Museums for Peace
平和のための博物館国際ネットワーク理事
Maggie Phoenix
マギー・フィニックス
Co-Director, World Friendship Center (Hiroshima)
ワールド・フレンドシップ・センター(広島）館長
NAKANO, Kazuko
中野和子
　
　
Sakamaki Masako
坂巻 真砂子
　
　
Hiroko Tanaka
田中浩子
　
　
Ryoichi Kondo
近藤亮一
　
　
Ryukyu Endo
遠藤喨及
Chief priest, Wada Temple, President Earth Caravan
和田寺住職、アースキャラバン代表
Jun Hoshikawa
星川 淳
Writer
作家・翻訳家
Hiromitsu Toyosaki
豊﨑博光
Independent Photojournalist.
フォトジャーナリスト
Junko Abe
阿部純子
Ikata People Against MOX
MOX反対伊方の会
Shizue Hinokawa
日野川静枝
visiting researcher, Institute for research in humanities, Takushoku University
拓殖大学人文科学研究所客員研究員
Masaru Homma
本間勝
President XDOS Consulting
エクスドス技術士事務所所長
Masao Tomonaga
朝長万左男
Emirates Professor, Nagasaki University, Honorary director, the Japanese Red Cross Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hospital, Director, Nagasaki Global Citizens' Assembly for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
長崎大学名誉教授、日赤長崎原爆病院名誉院長、核廃絶地球市民集会ナガサキ代表
IKEDA IDUMI
池田 いづみ
JFOR
日本友和会理事
Rika Mizutani
　
Akemi Shima
島明美
　
　
TAKAYAMA Fujiko
高山富士子
freelance writer
ライター
Tsutomu　Ohtsuki（Otsuki)
大槻 邁
Japan NGO Network for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Member, IPB(Geneva) International Peace Bureau, Peace News Japan
核兵器廃絶日本ＮＧＯ連絡会、IPB(Geneva) International Peace Bureau会員、Peace News Japan
YOICHI SAKAI
坂井陽一
Ph D
工学博士
Kazuhiko Kobayashi,
　
consultant for international human and business relations Crossroadscafe_Kamakura (NPO)
鎌倉・岐れ路の会
Masa Takubo
田窪雅文
Operator, Website Kakujoho (Nuclear Information)
ウエブサイト核情報主宰


KAKUJOHO (in Japanese) | Contact | ©2016 Kakujoho