Greenpeace says US sold nuclear secrets to Japan
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.New York - The United States has been providing secret nuclear technology to Japan in violation of a US law designed to halt the spread of materials to make nuclear weapons, Greenpeace, the environmental group, alleged yesterday, writes Peter Pringle.
The transfer of technology was made mostly during the Reagan and Bush administration, the group said. It alleged that the Reagan administration had misled Congressmen over an agreement to help Japan build a plant to extract plutonium fuel from its nuclear power reactors. Construction of the plant is due to begin this month.
The allegations come at a sensitive time for the Clinton administration, which is trying to prevent North Korea's nuclear programme from producing bomb-grade material. The US Department of Energy, which controls all nuclear materials, did not deny the Greenpeace claims. The department said: 'We take their concerns seriously and will be thoroughly reviewing the Greenpeace report.'
The transfer of Sensitive Nuclear Technology (SNT) was made, Greenpeace said, to help Japan build a reprocessing plant at the Tokai nuclear power complex. The extracted plutonium is sufficiently potent to be used in bombs, which is why thus far the five countries with declared nuclear weapons have restricted transfer of the reprocessing technology. Greenpeace says documents show several shipments to Japan of advanced plutonium reprocessing information and technology.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments