Physical Protection Philosophy and Techniques in Japan

Japan is composed of four major islands isolated from the Eurasian Continent by the Japan Sea. The total area is small, approximately 143,000 square miles which is almost the same size as the British Isles. The highly mountainous nature of these islands leaves only 16 percent open field, which accommodates almost the total population of 120 million people, of a single race, all sharing similar culture backgrounds. Natural resources in Japan, except water, are too scarce to maintain 120 million people. Therefore, industrial activities have to be maintained at a high level in order to sustain a reasonable living standard. As a result, Japan ranks high in energy consumption among the countries of the world. Since the oil crisis in 1972, the Japanese Government has implemented an intensive "Energy Saving Policy", which has accomplished a 15% reduction of the total energy consumption. Nevertheless, the overall dependence on imported energy resources still stands at a level higher than 80%. With these ominous circumstances, Japan's expectations in utilizing nuclear energy remain very high, even though utilization of nuclear energy needs new technologies with some potential risk in new dimensions. Although sophisticated efforts would be needed to cope with legends of the so-called "Faustian Bargain" relating to nuclear issues, we are convinced that the associated risks could be manageable. Under these circumstances, neither anti-nuclear extremists nor influential political parties insisting on an anti-nuclear policy have ever emerged, although some anti-nuclear movements have been observed.