The government may suspend development of the troubled Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor in consideration of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, science minister Yoshiaki Takaki indicated Friday.
Whether to halt the advanced power reactor is "one issue" to be determined when nuclear energy policy comes under review, Takaki said.
"The accident (at the Fukushima No. 1 plant) is serious. It's only natural to discuss" such matters as the suspension of Monju, which is located in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, he added.
Unlike regular light-water reactors fueled by uranium, Monju, operated by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, runs on an oxide mix of plutonium and uranium, or MOX, made from spent nuclear fuel from existing plants.
The reactor first achieved criticality in 1994 but was shut down due to a serious accident involving a leak of sodium coolant and a resulting fire, and coverup attempt, in 1995.
Monju resumed operations in May 2010 after 14 years and five months of suspension, but the launch of full operations was delayed again as a device in the reactor accidentally fell inside the vessel last August.
The agency removed the device in June.
In the fiscal 2011 white paper on science and technology, approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology deleted a sentence saying it will realize the establishment of a fast-breeder reactor, backpedaling on its drive for research and development of nuclear power.