Antinuclear

Toshimitsu Motegi, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Policy Research Council, on Friday called for decommissioning the Monju prototype fast-breeder nuclear reactor in central Japan as a cost-effective step for the troubled facility.

In an interview, Motegi said that he cannot think of any option other than decommissioning for the reactor in Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture, which is operated by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.

“Now is the time to make a decision,” Motegi said.

The Monju reactor, which reached criticality for the first time in 1994, has been in operation only for 250 days so far, while more than ¥1 trillion has been spent on the reactor, a core facility for Japan’s nuclear fuel cycle policy.

He also cited a failure to find a new operator of the reactor to replace the JAEA, though the Nuclear Regulation Authority urged the education and science minister to take such…