The Japanese thorium program

Sasa, Toshinobu   

The Japanese nuclear energy policy is based on Uranium-Plutonium cycle including application of FBR. However, the Japan Atomic Energy Commission mentioned that the application of Thorium fuel is one of the useful alternative option of future nuclear fuel cycle and recommended to precede basic studies. There are no specific programs for thorium utilization in national nuclear energy policy, two research groups related to thorium fuelled reactor and fuel cycle was set up in the Atomic Energy Society of Japan. One is a "Research Committee on Nuclear Applications of Molten Salt". The other is a "Working group for thorium fuel application in light water reactor and fast reactor". Through these two different approaches, it is expected that the opinion for thorium fuel usage in Japanese nuclear fuel cycle policy will be summarized as an academic point of view within two or three years. Accelerator-driven system with Thorium fuel studied at JAEA is also introduced.