How long will Monju limp on?

It seems the government is trying to shelve a decision on the fate of the troubled Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor. A panel of experts at the education and science ministry, created in response to a recommendation by the Nuclear Regulation Authority in November that the ministry replace the operator of the long-dormant facility in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture or "fundamentally review" the program itself, has compiled a report calling for beefing up governance of the Monju operator without identifying who should take over its operation from the government-backed Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) — which was declared by the NRA as unfit to safely operate the fast-breeder reactor.

Based on the report, the ministry reportedly hopes to specify a new operator by summer — likely after the Upper House election in July — in its response to the NRA. But it seems questionable that the ministry can come up with a credible answer that can convince the NRA in just a few months. Monju's operator has been revamped and reorganized over the two decades since its 1995 sodium coolant leak and fire — during which the reactor was mostly kept offline — but as repeatedly pointed out by the nuclear regulator, little improvement has been made in its operation. The power industry, which runs its own nuclear power plants, is reluctant to take charge of the reactor, which it says is still in the "research and development phase."

A glance at Monju's history would leave one wondering why no decision has been made yet to decommission the troubled facility. Once called a "dream reactor" designed to produce more plutonium than it consumes as fuel in this energy-scarce country, Monju first reached criticality in 1994 but has been in operation for only 250 days in total over the past 21 years. The 1995 accident exposed the difficulty of managing its unique technological feature of using sodium as a coolant. After being idled for 14 years, it was briefly put back online in 2010 — only to be halted again due to another accident. Subsequent revelations of sloppy safety checkups by the operator led the NRA to effectively order a ban on Monju's operation.