Japan to send weapons grade plutonium back to U.S. this weekend, Greenpeace says

Shipments of plutonium are highly sensitive because the material can be used in advanced nuclear weapons or as a so-called dirty bomb. In Japan, public sensitivity is also high because the country is the only nation to be bombed with nuclear weapons.

If they are so "highly sensitive" then why is the information about the departure, destination, ship name, and estimated loading time, being openly published?

After the fact would be better.

THIS IS THE ONLY REASON why the world NEVER went forth with Thorium reactors. The US and all nuke building countries needed those dirty reactors for their bomb making supplies. Thorium reactors by design can't have those EPIC meltdowns and their waste is almost nothing when compared to today's nuclear reactors and of course make no waste by product for nukes.

This ship sailing the high seas carrying that load of plutonium makes for a great Bond movie script whereby the ship gets hit and the 'cargo' goes missing for obviously nefarious acts to soon be disclosed. As someone once said, "I've got a bad felling about this".

@The shipment is a tiny portion of the nearly 50 tons of plutonium Japan holds. 50 tons of weapon grade plutonium stockpiled in Japan? That's over 100,000 pounds ! Enough for over 300 nuclear devices. Its look like Japan has been stockpiling and gearing up for some major nuclear conflicts all these years despite what its government says.

Here is stupidity as its best, from the government and the media, why not just give out flyers and be done with it. Transporting the worlds deadliest cargo, and they give the port of loading and the ships name, and the world in such chaotic mess at the moment, anything could happen, hopefully nothing does. Previously this kind of transportation was done in secrecy,, specifically to lesson any chance of attack, so what happened ??

It would take more than a few days fora terrorist group to plan and execute a real action against this shipment, especially since the ship is armed. But it wouldn't take long for Hachioji's Friday-Night oba/oji multi-topic protest march (all 20 of them) to go there and make some noise.

It would take more than a few days fora terrorist group to plan and execute a real action against this shipment

LoL. Those skinny Somali pirates were a joke. On the high seas, these days, there aren't real threats from terrorist.

You can bet that it is not traveling alone...

And greenpeace is sharing this with the world because... why?

And greenpeace is sharing this with the world because... why?

Because knowledge trumps unquestioning ignorance.

Shipments of plutonium are highly sensitive because the material can be used in advanced nuclear weapons or as a so-called dirty bomb. In Japan, public sensitivity is also high because the country is the only nation to be bombed with nuclear weapons.

If the government was truly concerned about plutonium being used for advance nuclear weapons or dirty bombs, why produce 50 tons of the stuff? The same question applies to public sensitivity as well, is the government really worried about the publics sensitivity of these matter?

This ship sailing the high seas carrying that load of plutonium makes for a great Bond movie script

Or South Park episode.

Thanks for telling the terrorists.

Thank you Greenpeace. What did you gain from announcing the details of this shipment? Did you folks take a moment to ponder why such details are not made public?

What did you gain from announcing the details of this shipment?

Making folks aware of the fact that Japan has produced this filth and in wanting to start the reactors will produce still more? Highlighting the fact that this stuff is not safe, and should not be being shipped around the world like so much merchandise?

Did you folks take a moment to ponder why such details are not made public?

People need to know the things the politicians don't want us to know.

I'm no fan of Greenpeace, at least not since they came out and said that it's OK to kill baby seals as long as you're making a profit from it, and that sealskin makes a cool fashion statement: but letting people know the downside of all this wonderful 'cheap, clean' energy Abe wants us to have is a public service. Considering his equally strong desire for 'collective defence' maybe Abe sees it as an upside.

Is this a sign that the governement is finally giving up on Monju? Let's hope so.

@shonanbb

Thanks for telling the terrorists.

ROFL!!

Weapon's Grade does not mean weapons! The stuff is more than five times less concentrated than the minimum concentration for a bomb core. And, reactor recycled plutonium is absolute JUNK for bombs. Too many neutron-sucking, non-fissioning isotopes of Plutonium. Greenpeace just wants to scare people with a gross exaggeration, and a decades-long lie about making weapons out of reactor-recycled Plutonium. They say these things because there is a numerically-significant, and ignorant public out there that trusts them as if they are god-like. They are just the opposite. They should be summarily spanked for their grossly misleading, headline-grabbing garbage!

Let's see, NK lost a submarine, that to this date is only speculation that it sunk with no concrete evidence. hmmm. undetected/unkown whereabouts of sub, and now this advertised shipment of nuke making materials, hmmm, I wonder who is in the market for such product surely not NK.

Let's see, NK lost a submarine

That primitive thing from the 50's or 60's? I'm sure the Plutonium is cradled aboard that armed Bristish ship. AEGIS sytem ready to go, anti-submarine warfare too. I don't think NK would be such "fools."

OssanAmerican: Are you accusing Greenpeace of leaking classified secret documents? Everything they said is information the public has access to, as it should be. I'm personally glad to know about the dangers our governments subject us to!

Information about this type of transport should not be made public. I had a problem but there are too many problems that could go wr information about this type of transport should not be made public. Telling the public after-the-fact,I have no problem but there are too many things that could go wrong....

Truthfully, why take the risk?

The shipment is a tiny portion of the nearly 50 tons of plutonium Japan holds.

I wonder why Reuters publish this kind of half truth(half lies) inaccurate rubish? Yes Japan owns 50 tonnes of plutonium BUT most of it is in Britain(Sellafield) under lock and keys in which Japan ownership is based on paper only. Physical possession is nuclear fuel recycling center in Sellafield, Britian since Japan's own nuclear fuel recycling center is not in operation.

It's impossible for Japan to own weapon's grade Plutonium even if Japan wants to.

Her terrorists!

The shipment of 331 kilograms of plutonium, enough to make about 50 nuclear weapons, will be loaded in Tokai Mura northeast of Tokyo onto the Pacific Egret, an armed British ship, and transported to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina, the environmental group said.

Information about this type of transport should not be made public.

Exactly. But all those tree-huggers and liberals want some accountability. So do I, lets stop all this political correctness bull-crap.

The US are only using Japan like a warehouse for their dirty stuff for producing nuclear weapons. This is why they don't want Japan abandons nuclear plants for ever. People who always blames Japan for not giving up on nuclear energy know nothing about international politics. Why do you think the US sold their nuclear technology to Japan after WWII?

Thanks for telling the terrorists. Pacific Egret is a purpose build nuclear fuel carrier, it has extra strong hull in the event of a terrorist suicide boat manages to go off near it, and its fast. Even if the terrorist knew when where the boat was going to set sail theyd also need to track its route. its is also very heavily armed in the event of a pirate/terrorist attack/takeover, the exact weapons onboard is classified but its one of the most heavily armed vessels on the ocean bar a naval vessel.

50 tons of weapon grade plutonium stockpiled in Japan?

No the 50 tons is from reprocessed fuel meaning it is reactor grade and isn't useful for weapons production.

Making folks aware of the fact that Japan has produced this filth

Except this material WASN'T produced by Japan. It was produced elsewhere and sent to Japan.

Why do you think the US sold their nuclear technology to Japan after WWII?

They weren't forced to purchase anything. It was the UK'S commercial-scale nuclear reactor start ups that caught Japan'S interest. NOT the US.

The US are only using Japan like a warehouse for their dirty stuff for producing nuclear weapons.

Yeah right. That'd be a slap-in-the-face to the Hibakusha.

Pacific Egret Security

In general, the security measures for MOX shipments of the sort undertaken by the Pacific Heron and Pacific Egret will fully satisfy the following requirements of the US-Japan Agreement:

• use of a dedicated transport ship • careful selection of the route to be used • no scheduled port call en route • use of armed escorts aboard the transport ship that are independent of the crew • an armed escort vessel to accompany the transport ship from departure to arrival • measures to impede the removal of the cargo at sea • use of multiple and secure communications systems • monitoring of the transport ship location and cargo status by an operations centre • preparation of a contingency plan

@WC: yeah the poor little US are innocent. Learn history. Look at how the US censored the effects of radiations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki immediately after WWII. Look at their "Atoms for peace" politics. Look at General Electric reactors in Japan. You Americans will never admit or learn the mistakes of your country, you will always act defensive against criticism from foreigners, while your waremonger government continues its criminal wars around the world to bring "democracy".

waremonger government continues its criminal wars around the world to bring "democracy".

Huh? You mean ur not an obama fan?

Look at how the US censored the effects of radiations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki immediately after WWII.

As WW2 victors, they "had" to win the hearts and minds of some people. It worked. Look! There's a Tokyo Disneyland, Disney Sea . . . . Even a Universal Studios Japan.

I'm personally glad to know about the dangers our governments subject us to!

Maybe you are but the Japanese people like to be kept in the dark, they like their cocoons that they live in.

@Wc: the US did it. Learn history.

Okay, whatever. They did it. I agree. They've done the good, the bad, the ugly to Japan.

In the wake of 3/11 the US military also assisted Japan. The US coughed-up the big bucks too for the victims of Fukushima. What did italy do??

@Wc: since you have military basis in Japan for "protecting" it, isn't normal your soldiers helped people during the disaster? Or Japan is paying tons of money for your occupation for nothing? Italy and Japan have close bonds like friends, not like master and servant. Both my country and Japan are your country's servant, and I know guys like you feels so proud about this. Anyway your comment about help during Fukushima is OT, it's not related to development of nuclear plants and weapons like my censored posts were.

Or Japan is paying tons of money for your occupation for nothing?

Japan pays tons of money because Japanese don't want to see their young men go to war -Ever. Japan is a US protectorate.

Both my country and Japan are your country's servant, and I know guys like you feels so proud about this.

No. Japan and the Japanese could protest and tell the US to pound sand. No hard feelings. The Japan-US relationship is too one sided anyways. We step up in their defense more than they do "themselves."

Worse. The Japanese "expect" this kind of relationship.

Japanese people want peace. The US propaganda makes them believe that the US presence is necessary against Chinese and Russian invasions of Japan. The US always supported anti-Chinese Japanese government like the current one, boycotting pro-Chinese governments. Now even though the US leave Japan, they got what they wanted: a broken Far East where China and Japan could clash, while the US would enjoy a lot of money from this clash. America foreign policy is so clear to everyone that has a bit of brain. They act the same way everywhere, see Middle East, and like they destroyed EU and Russia relations.

Japan will load weapons-grade plutonium onto a ship as early as this weekend to send to the United States, in what will be largest such shipment of the highly dangerous material since 1992, Greenpeace said on Friday.

.....The U.S. embassy in Tokyo declined to comment.

Has Greenpeace lost their minds? Are they stupid? Why would they announce that there is an ongoing, top secret, transfer of weapons-grade plutonium? Dear terrorists and rouge nations. If you're interested in blowing up or stealing 331 kilograms of plutonium, we can show you where it is?!?!?!?

I hope PM Abe will have the guts to also return to sender all the agent orange that are still left hibernating under the once pristine Okinawan sacred soil ASAP.

Appreciate if Greenpeace will volunteer to expedite this detoxification of the Ryukyus too.

These toxic weapons of mass destruction and DNA altering carcinogens are after all as dangerous as those deadly plutoniums.

The only thing I could think of after reading the article was, "So?"