Rivalry among Japan, the United States and Europe on U.S. nuclear cooperation policy; Making Programmatic prior consent, 1977-1982

Takeda, Yu

Nihon Kokusai Seiji Gakkai 2014-Nendo Kenkyu Taikai Bukai, Bunkakai Pepa (Internet), 27 Pages, 2014/11

U.S. nuclear cooperation policy has been based on programmatic prior consent that admits reprocessing of U.S.-origin spent fuel only if a country has advanced nuclear program and poses no proliferation risks since 1982. Until then, there were rivalries and cooperation between Carter administration and its allies since the former claimed to stop peaceful use of plutonium. Tokyo tried to propose Washington to adopt a programmatic consent to reprocessing after having talks with Australia and Canada to introduce a similar system. As it faced serious backlash from its allies, Washington started to think about more cooperative policy based on Japanese suggestions. Although President Carter ended its term before finalizing the policy review process, it led to the decision under Reagan administration in 1982. As this paper shows, narrow-minded U.S. nuclear cooperation policy was not only a serious problem but a chance to participate in reconstructing international cooperation for Japan.