Press Conference at Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan, 21 April 2005, 3pm (Click here for full text of speech)
Speaker: Mr. Hideyuki Ban, Co-Director of the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center and member of the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan's New Nuclear Policy-Planning Council
Title: Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant: a nuclear proliferation issue
Mr. Hideyuki Ban, Co-Director of the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center and member of the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan's New Nuclear Policy-Planning Council, has called on the Japanese government to create a breakthrough at the NPT Review Conference in May, by accepting a moratorium on the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant in Aomori Prefecture.
Mr. Ban said, "So far the Japanese government has stubbornly refused to accept international calls for a moratorium on nuclear fuel cycle projects. This undermines Japan's own security, by promoting the proliferation of nuclear weapons. It creates another level of discrimination within the Non Proliferation Treaty: between those non nuclear weapons states which may and those which may not develop nuclear fuel cycle facilities."
The Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant is scheduled to commence operations in May 2007. It will extract the plutonium generated at Japan's nuclear power plants, by reprocessing their spent nuclear fuel.
Mr Ban said, "Rokkasho is arguably the most significant of all the new nuclear fuel cycle projects in the world today. Its significance lies in the following four areas:
1. the scale of the project - it will extract approximately 8 tons of plutonium, enough for 1,000 nuclear weapons - per year;
2. the government and power utilities have failed to implement their plans to use the 40 tons of plutonium that they already own;
3. starting up Rokkasho will open the flood gates to other states which might wish to develop nuclear fuel cycle projects, potentially leading to much wider access to nuclear weapons material;
4. the past 50 years have shown that human beings are unable to coexist with nuclear energy."
"The message that Japan needs to send the world is that now is not a time for stubborn pursuit of narrowly conceived 'national interests'. The stakes are just too high. Japan should show flexibility by announcing an indefinite moratorium on the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant at the NPT Review Conference in May."
"This year is the 60th year since the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As the home to thousands of hibakusha who all fervently wish for the elimination of nuclear weapons, Japan must show that it is willing to live up to the expectations of the international community and of its own people. At the NPT Review Conference in May, the Japanese government should show leadership in the quest for nuclear disarmament."
"CNIC will participate in seminars at the NPT Review Conference in New York calling for a moratorium on Rokkasho. Seminars will be held in Japanese on May 2nd and 3rd and a seminar will be held in English on May 5th. These seminars indicate the high priority that the global anti-nuclear movement places on Rokkasho. We believe that a positive response from the Japanese government to calls for a moratorium on nuclear fuel cycle projects could be just the breakthrough that is required to inject new life into the NPT."
The press conference will be in English, with Japanese-English (not English-Japanese) interpreting as necessary. Journalists who wish to attend should contact Wayne Hunter, Media liaison Manager, The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, on 03-3211-3161.
Contacts: Hideyuki Ban, and Philip White (CNIC International Liaison Officer) 03-5330-9520
Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan: Yurakucho Denki Building, 20F North Tower
Yurakucho Line: Yurakucho Station
Yamanote Line: Yurakucho Station
Mita Line, Chiyoda Line, Hibiya Line: Hibiya Station, exit A3
English Seminar in New York
Thursday, May 5
Stopping the Spread of Plutonium;
The Argument for Abandoning the Japanese Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant
Where: UN Conference Room E
When: 11 am - 1 pm
Contact: Damon Moglen, Union of Concerned Scientists
Phone: 202-331-5425 (USA)
