"Japan's atomic industry over the next year plans to produce half a ton of plutonium, even though all of the nuclear power plants that could utilize the fuel source are disabled or inactive, the Associated Press reported on Friday.
The country's considerable plutonium reserve, which is enough to build roughly 5,000 rudimentary nuclear bombs, has raised security concerns from among nonproliferation specialists.
The industry justifies its plutonium production plans by arguing the surplus stocks will eventually be needed when a number of planned reactors are finally built and activated. The future reactors will run on mixed-oxide fuel, which is a blend of uranium and plutonium, Federation of Electric Power Companies spokesman Kimitake Yoshida said."