Nuclear power generation and MOX utilization offer Japan, a country that combines large energy consumption with scarce natural resources, long-term advantages. Japan relies on imports for over 80% of its primary energy requirements, including uranium.

DEPENDENCE ON INPORTED ENERGY BY MAJOR COUNTRIES (1996)

MOX fuel contains significant energy potential. One pellet of MOX fuel, which weighs about six grams, can generate the energy equivalent of one ton of coal. A single MOX fuel assembly produces enough electricity to supply 30,000 families for an entire year.

As Japan does not yet possess a domestic commercial reprocessing plant, Japanese utility companies have contracted with COGEMA in France and BNFL in the U.K. to reprocess 7,100 tons of uranium in their spent fuel. Under these contracts, it is expected that approximately 30 tons of plutonium will be recovered. Except for an amount to be used for research and development purposes, the majority of the recovered plutonium will be burned in the utilities' light water reactors (LWRs) as MOX fuel.