Provisional Translation

Japan Atomic Energy Commission’s Views on Plutonium Utilization Plans
Announced by Electric Power Companies
andthe Japan Atomic Energy Agency
March 1, 2022
Japan Atomic Energy Commission
Cabinet Office, Government of Japan
Regarding the use of nuclear energy, Japan has been upholding the principle of not possessing
plutonium without specific purposes. Under this principle and from the viewpoint of enhancing
transparency concerning peaceful use of nuclear energy, Japan Atomic Energy Commission(hereinafter referred to as “the Commission”) has declared the policy to reduce the amount ofJapan’s plutonium stockpile in "The Basic Principles on Japan’s Utilization of Plutonium"(hereinafter referred to as the "Basic Principles") published in July 2018. The Basic principle has
also requested the electric power companies and Japan Atomic Energy Agency (hereinafter referredto as "JAEA") to make public the plutonium utilization plan (hereinafter referred to as the“Utilization Plan") every fiscal year.
Under these circumstances, Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (hereinafter referred to as “JNFL”)
announced the provisional operation plans of the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant and MOX FuelFabrication Plant (for FY2022-FY2026) in February, this year, and the electric power companies
and JAEA announced the Utilization Plan (for FY2022-FY2024) subsequently.
In response to these announcements and based on the Basic Principles, the Commission hereby
presents its views on the Utilization Plan, taking into account the efforts and ideas of thesecompanies and JAEA.
1. Utilization Plan for FY2022(1) Japan's plutonium stockpile at the end of FY2021
As of February 2022, the following four units are in operation as pluthermal 1 reactors, i.e.,Units 3 and 4 of Takahama Power Stations (Kansai Electric Power Company), Unit 3 of Ikata
Power Station (Shikoku Electric Power Company) and Unit 3 of Genkai Nuclear Power Station(Kyushu Electric Power Company). In FY2021, since approx. 0.2 tons of plutonium wasconsumed at Unit 3 of Ikata Power Station and no additional plutonium was recovered in Japan,
the total amount of plutonium stockpile at the end of FY2021 (March 31, 2022) will be approx.
45.9 tons 2.
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2The term “pluthermal” stands for the use of MOX fuel assemblies containing plutonium in thermal reactors.
The estimated stockpile volume obtained by subtracting approx. 0.2 tons consumed at Shikoku Electric Power's Ikata Power
Station Unit 3 at the end of FY2021 from the total Japanese stockpile volume of approx. 46.1 tons at the end of FY2020.

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(2) Expected consumption and recovery of plutonium in FY2022
With respect to electric power companies, four pluthermal reactors will be in operation during
FY2022. Among these, approx. 0.7 tons of plutonium will be consumed at the Unit 4 of Takahama
Power Station (Kansai Electric Power Company). Since the rest of the three pluthermal reactors
do not possess MOX fuel assemblies, they will not consume plutonium.
Although the construction of Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant will be completed in the first halfof FY 2022, no additional plutonium is expected to be recovered in Japan as the plant will not bein operation during FY2022.
As for JAEA, the plutonium will neither be consumed nor recovered in FY2022 since theexperimental fast reactor "Joyo" is currently under review by the Nuclear Regulation Authority
to confirm its compliance with the new regulatory standards, and the Tokai Reprocessing Plant
owned by JAEA is in decommissioning process.
(3) Validity of Utilization Plan for FY2022
Based on the above, the total plutonium stockpile of Japan in FY2022 will be approx. 45.2
tons 3, since no additional plutonium will be recovered and approx. 0.7 tons of plutonium will beconsumed.
Therefore, the Commission believes that the Utilization Plan for FY2022 is appropriate at thispoint, because no additional plutonium will be consumed beyond the level described in theUtilization Plan, taking into account the operation plan of pluthermal reactors at home and theprospect of MOX fuel fabrication by using plutonium held abroad.
2. Utilization Plans for FY2023 and FY2024
The Commission makes provisional comments on the Utilization Plan for FY2023 and FY2024
based on the information currently available, as the situation may change significantly dependingon the progress of various efforts in the future.
(1) Expected consumption and recovery of plutonium by the electric power companies
According to the Utilization Plan of the electric power companies, the Kansai Electric Power
Company’s Takahama Power Station plans to consume approx. 0.7 tons of plutonium in FY2023
and approx. 0.7 tons in FY2024 respectively, by fabricating plutonium held abroad into MOX
fuel and loading it at the power station.
On the other hand, according to JNFL, the maximum amount of plutonium separated andrecovered at the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant during the same period is assumed to be approx.
0.6 tons in FY2023 and approx.1.4 tons in FY2024 respectively.

3The estimated stockpiles volume calculated by subtracting the amount expected to be consumed at the Kansai Electric Power
Company's Takahama Power Station Unit 4 in FY 2022 (approx. 0.7 tons) from the total estimated stockpile volume in Japan asof the end of FY 2021 (approx. 45.9 tons).

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(2) Expected consumption and recovery of plutonium by JAEAIn JAEA's Utilization Plan, both plutonium consumption and recovery during the same period
will be zero since the outlook for the review of the experimental fast reactor "Joyo” by theregulatory body is unclear.
(3) Utilization Plans for FY2023 and FY2024
According to the Utilization Plan of the electric power companies and JAEA, the total amountof Japan’s plutonium stockpile in FY2023 and FY2024 will be approx. 45.1 tons 4 and approx.
45.8 tons 5 at maximum, respectively.
According to the electric power companies, it takes nearly two years to fabricate MOX fuelfrom the plutonium to be recovered at the JNFL's Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant, therefore therecovered plutonium will not be consumed immediately in pluthermal reactors. Subsequently,approx. 2.0 tons of plutonium recovered in FY2023 and FY2024 will be fabricated into MOX
fuel at the MOX Fuel Fabrication Plant (hereinafter referred to as J-MOX) and fully consumed
in pluthermal reactors in FY2026 or thereafter.
However, taking account of the operational status of J-MOX after FY2024 and the pluthermal
reactors after FY2026, the current situation surrounding the nuclear power plants is uncertain to
verify the details of the Utilization Plans for FY2023 and FY2024 and to evaluate their validity.
The Commission, therefore, strongly requests operators and other parties concerned to maketheir utmost efforts to steadily consume the plutonium recovered at home and operate thereprocessing plant and J-MOX properly to manage the reprocessing volume only to an extent
necessary for the domestic consumption and to strike the balance between demand and supply ofplutonium.
The Commission also strongly requests electric power companies to redouble their efforts to
consume plutonium at home and to reduce stockpile stored abroad to comply with the Basic
Principles.
At the same time, JAEA is expected, in cooperation with the relevant parties, to further
explore every possible way that will contribute to reducing its plutonium stockpile.
Lastly, in order to enhance the transparency of the use of plutonium in Japan, the Commission
requests forcefully the electric power companies and JAEA to make revised reports, of theUtilization Plans, in a timely and appropriate manner, in accordance with the progress made inspecific initiatives.

The estimated stockpile volume calculated by adding the maximum amount recoverable in FY2023 (approx. 0.6 tons) to theestimated total stockpile volume in Japan of approx. 45.2 tons at the end of FY2022 and subtracting the estimated consumption
at the Kansai Electric Power Company's Takahama Power Station (approx. 0.7 tons).
5The estimated stockpile volume calculated by adding the maximum amount recoverable in FY2024 (approx. 1.4 tons) to theestimated total stockpile volume in Japan of approx. 45.1 tons at the end of FY2023 and subtracting the estimated consumption
at the Kansai Electric Power Company's Takahama Power Station (approx. 0.7 tons).
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