International Transport of Radioactive Materials Between Japan and Europe

It is indispensable for nations like Japan, which do not have plentiful domestic energy resources, to secure energy supplies in the long-term in order to ensure sustainable social and economic development. Nuclear power is an effective option to secure energy supplies, and from the point of view of environmental conservation, it is superior to fossil fuels because it emits no carbon dioxide. In Japan. we therefore consider nuclear power to be an important energy resource both at present and for the future, and we are striving to promote it positively. Just as fossil fuels are finite, so is uranium. Some people predict that uranium reserves will be exhausted by about the middle of next century. Therefore, in order to secure its energy supplies in the future, Japan has adopted a nuclear policy to establish its own nuclear fuel cycle: we thus utilise plutonium and uranium recovered from spent fuel reprocessing. Furthermore, we believe that it is worthwhile establishing a nuclear fuel cycle because it enables us to appropriately manage and dispose of the radioactive waste.