The government will not earmark funding for a test run of the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor in the fiscal 2012 budget following a Diet panel's call to cut spending on the project and its nuclear fuel cycle program, Masaharu Nakagawa, the science minister, said Tuesday.
Nakagawa, who is minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology, told a news conference that the government "will exclude (spending on the Monju test run) after various views" were expressed in the Diet on the project earlier this month.
The ministry sought ¥21.5 billion for the Monju project in next year's budget, including ¥2.2 billion to carry out a practice run. The government has already decided not to run the reactor on a trial basis in the current fiscal year, which ends March 31.