Publication Laka-library:
White paper on nuclear energy 1996
| Author | Atomic Energy Commission Japan |
| Date | 1997 |
| Classification | 4.21.0.00/07 (JAPAN - GENERAL) |
| Front | 
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From the publication:
Chapter 1: Coexistence of Nuclear Energy and People Because Japan has scant energy resources, it depends on other countries for more than eighty percent of its energy demand. Looking at the annual global consumption of primary energy, one sees that it has shot up from only about 100 million toe (ton equivalent of oil) around the middle of last century to about 8 billion toe in 1990. If the consumption of fossil fuels, which are not only very convenient but also the geological products of the earth, continues at the present frantic pace, they are expected to be depleted in just a few hundred years, but an instant in the history of the earth. Therefore, the energy problem should be considered not only from a domestic viewpoint of energy supply and demand but also a global one considering the historical point of view. As a result of the development and utilization of nuclear energy based on the major principle of strictly adhering to a policy of peaceful use and assuring safety, Japanese nuclear power generation has come to account for about thirty percent of this country's total electricity. Japan's main strategy is to secure a stable energy supply through the establishment of a nuclear fuel cycle. That is, besides securing a stable supply of uranium resources, recover the newly produced plutonium and residual uranium in the spent fuel for the sake of efficient utilization of uranium resources (nuclear fuel recycling).The sodium leakage of the fast breeder prototype reactor "Monju" in December 1995, however, has again raised anxiety about nuclear policy. Needless to say, it is important that people living in this country be reassured and have their minds at ease about the development and. utilization of nuclear energy. The government has been making efforts in that regard, but still they have not been entirely sufficient. Taking the recent rise in uneasiness among the public concerning nuclear policy, the government has decided to take active measures to cope with it, and new steps have already been taken for the formation of a nationwide consensus concerning nuclear policies.
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