JAPAN: ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TOKYO 002912

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TAGS: ENRG TBIO TNGD TPHY TRGY TSPA TSPL SENV SOCI
KSCA, EFIS, ECON, KFLU, JA
SUBJECT: JAPAN: ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
- DEVELOPMENTS SEPT 2005-APR 2006

REF: A) Fukuoka 0009

B) Tokyo 6750
C) Tokyo 6010
D) Tokyo 2423

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This cable highlights environment, science and technology
developments from the Japanese press and other sources
during September 2005-April 2006.

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Contents
--------------


A. Energy/Nuclear
- 1. GOJ Approves Nuclear Policy for The Next Ten
- Years
- 2. Aomori Prefecture Accepts Nuclear Fuel Storage
- Facility
- 3. Japan's Nuclear Fuel Recycling Plan Advanced
- 4. The Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant Starts Test
- Operations


B. Environment
- 5. Japan, China and Korean Environmental Ministers
- Discuss Regional Problem
- 6. Asbestos Law and Supplementary Budget JFY 2006
- Established
- 7. Kubota Pays USD 29 Million in Compensation For
- Asbestos-Affected Residents


C. Health
- 8. Japan's Action Plan Against Pandemic Influenza
- Released
- 9. Japan to Amend Infectious Diseases Law to Help
- Prevent Bioterrorism
- 10. GOJ Prepares to Establish New BSL4 Facility
- 11. Lymphocytes Controlling HIV Development Found
- Among Japanese
- 12. RIKEN Develops Way to Triple Mouse ES Cell
- Production Rate
- 13. Japan's First West Nile Fever Case Confirmed
- 14. Import of Thalidomide Increases


D. Safety and Security
- 15. Japan To Use Simulation System to Prepare
- for Terror Attack
- 16. JAPAN, UK AND FRANCE COOPERATE ON S&T FOR SAFE
- and Secure Society


E. Space
- 17. Supersonic Plane Succeeds in Test Flight
- 18. Japan's Probe Lands on Asteroid
- 19. H2A Rockets Successfully Launched


F. Other developments
- 20. Japan's S&T Budget for JFY2006 Approved
- 21. Japan's Third S&T Basic Plan Approved
- 22. Japan Accelerating Development of Domestic
- Commercial Jets

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Energy/Nuclear
--------------


1. GOJ Approves Nuclear Energy Policy for the Next Decade:
On October 14, the GOJ agreed to follow basic
recommendations put forth by the Atomic Energy Commission
that call for maintaining the policy of reprocessing spent
nuclear fuel for the next ten years. The new policy
includes a study on the viability of fast-breeder reactors
starting in 2015 and calls for the full-scale rollout of
the FBRs by 2050 if the results are promising. It also
mentions for the first time the need to perform studies on
high-level waste disposal in case the rollout of the fast-
breeder reactors is rejected. The full text of the policy
can be found at:


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http://aec.jst.go.jp/jicst/NC/tyoki/taikou/ke ttei/eng_ver.p
df


2. Aomori Prefecture Accepts Nuclear Fuel Storage
Facility: On October 19, Aomori Prefecture Governor Shingo
Mimura announced that the prefecture will allow Japan's
first intermediate storage facility for spent nuclear fuel
to be built in the city of Mutsu. The Tokyo Electric Power
Company (TEPCO) and the Japan Atomic Power Company will
build a 5,000-ton storage facility and plan to begin
operating the facility in JFY2010. The lack of
intermediate storage facilities has been a major stumbling
block in Japan's recycling program to date. Japan Nuclear
Fuel Ltd.'s spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in
Rokkasho (RRP) will only be capable of treating 800 tons a
year, while nuclear power plants nationwide produce 900 to
1,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel annually.


3. Japan's Nuclear Fuel Recycling Plan Advanced: The
Kyushu Electric Power Company will likely become the first
utility in Japan to begin generating power using MOX, or
mixed oxide fuel. On March 26, Saga Governor Yasushi
Furukawa gave his approval to the electric utility to use
MOX fuel at its Genkai No. 3 reactor in Saga Prefecture.
Furukawa announced in February that the company's Genkai
nuclear power plant was safe based on the prefecture's own
study and the central government's safety screening.
Kyushu Electric plans to order fuel from an overseas firm
and start pluthermal power generation by JFY2010. In
September last year, the central government gave the green
light to the company's pluthermal plan, but endorsements
from the prefectural and municipal governments were deemed
critical at the time, leading to the several month delay.
The Genkai town assembly accepted the plan at a special
session held on February 17, and the Saga prefectural
assembly followed suit on February 21. (For further
details see reftel A).


4. JNFL's Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant (RRP) Starts Test
Operations: On March 31, Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. began hot
tests at Japan's first commercial facility for reprocessing
spent nuclear fuel. The tests are expected to continue for
the next 17 months, with full-fledged operations commencing
in August 2007. During the trials, about 430 tons of spent
nuclear fuel will be processed and about two tons of
plutonium will be produced. When the facility begins to
operate at full capacity in fiscal 2011, it is expected to
reprocess approximately 800 tons of spent fuel and generate
about five tons of plutonium a year. An inspector from the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be stationed
at the RRP to monitor operations since plutonium can be
used to make nuclear weapons.

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Environment
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5. Asbestos Law and Supplementary Budget JFY 2006
Established: on February 3, the House of Councilors passed
the Asbestos Law to compensate victims whose medical bills
were not covered in traditional workman's compensation
schemes such as residents near asbestos-dispersing sites
and family members of employees at asbestos factories.
About 30,000 people suffering from mesothelioma and other
asbestos-related illnesses will be eligible for
compensation under the new law, according to estimates by
the Ministry of Environment (MOE). The law was enacted on
March 27 and will be reconsidered after five years. The
House of Councilors also on February 3 passed a 4.52-
trillion-yen supplementary budget for JFY 2005 which ended
in March, including Yen 180 billion (USD 1.5 billion) for
asbestos-related expenditures. Of this, Yen 38 billion
(USD 328 million) was earmarked to compensate victims noted
above, and Yen 141 billion (USD 1.2 billion) to remove
asbestos from schools, hospitals and social welfare
buildings. The local press criticized the new law because
it does not spell out the GOJ's responsibility for having

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allowed the damage of asbestos to spread.


6. Kubota Pays USD 29 Million In Compensation For Asbestos-
Affected Residents: Major machinery manufacturer Kubota
Corporation announced on April 17 that it decided to pay a
total of Yen 3.2 billion (USD 29 million) of "relief" money
to 88 victims of asbestos-related diseases who lived for at
least one year between 1954-1995 near one of its factories.
It is unique for a company to offer such a compensation
package without establishing a direct link between the
diseases and the plants or facing a lawsuit in court.
Until then, Kubota, citing the company's "moral
responsibility," had paid Yen 2 million (USD 18,000) to
each affected resident in the area as condolence money.

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Health/Medical
--------------


7. Japan's Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Action Plan
Released: On November 14, the Ministry of Health, Labor
and Welfare (MHLW) released Japan's domestic action plan to
prepare for novel strains of pandemic influenza including
avian flu. The plan outlines six major phases for a flu
pandemic ranging from no human cases to a worldwide
pandemic. The plan closely correlates with the World
Health Organization's Global Influenza Preparedness Plan,
though it further subdivides each of the six phases to
include "no outbreaks in Japan" and "outbreaks in Japan."
Under the action plan the MHLW Minister will declare a
state of emergency in the event of an outbreak to curb
infections and prevent panic. It calls for banning major
gatherings as well as allowing authorities to prevent
people from attending work or school. A summary and the
full text of the action plan can be found at:
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/topics/influenz a/index.html


8. Japan to Amend Infectious Diseases Law to Help Prevent
Bioterrorism: A MHLW experts panel has proposed new
regulations on the handling of 48 viruses and bacteria
which could possibly be used for a terror attack. The
amended infectious diseases law will strictly regulate the
handling of these pathogens and will also impose penalties
on those who fail to comply with the new regulations. MHLW
will submit a bill to the current ordinary Diet session and
plans to implement the revised Infectious Diseases Law in
October. (See reftel B).


9. GOJ Prepares to Establish New BSL-4 Facility: On
December 27, the Council for Science and Technology Policy
chaired by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi decided to put
into place conditions for the operation of a bio-safety
level 4 (BSL-4) facility within three years. Japan
currently has two BSL-4 facilities located at the National
Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) and RIKEN. The
operation of the facilities has been suspended for almost
twenty years due to local opposition. The GOJ plans to
conduct a study that will analyze the possible negative
impact of running the lab on local citizens' safety and
compare this to the consequences stemming from the
prolonged suspension of operations at the two BSL-4
facilities. Tokyo will set aside Yen 300 million (USD 2.6
million) for the studies. In addition, the CSTP decided
that it may become necessary to establish a separate BSL-4
facility if the two existing facilities are found unable to
meet necessary conditions the government will set in the
future. Until a facility re-opens or a new one is
established, the GOJ will strengthen cooperation with
institutes in France and Australia to analyze the blood of
suspected patients of dangerous diseases such as the Ebola
virus.


10. Lymphocytes Controlling HIV Development Found Among
Japanese: A research team from Kumamoto University's
Center for AIDS Research and the International Medical
Center of Japan (IMCJ) identified several HIV infected
individuals who were expressing a "resistance" to AIDS.

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Professor Masafumi Takiguchi of Kumamoto University
examined blood samples taken from 300 Japanese individuals
infected with HIV and found three who had not developed
full-blown AIDS for more than 20 years even though they had
not received any medical treatment. These patients have
B51-type leukocytes including cytotoxic T lymphocytes
(CTL),which are capable of detecting and eliminating
leukocytes infected with the virus. Fifteen percent of the
Japanese population has the B51-type leukocytes.


11. RIKEN Develops Way to Triple Mouse ES Cell Production
Rate: A research team at the Institute for Physical and
Chemical Research (RIKEN) has developed a technology to
triple the efficiency of producing mouse embryo stem (ES)
cells using cloning technology. The team led by Teruhiko
Wakayama of RIKEN's Center for Developmental Biology raised
the rate of ES cell production by 30-40 percent, three
times the level attained through conventional methods by
submerging a cloned mouse embryo into a reagent called
Trichostatin A. The technology is not immediately
applicable to humans, but is expected to further promote
the development of regenerative medicine. Japan is
currently trying to develop guidelines for researching
human ES cell production.


12. Japan's First West Nile Fever Case Confirmed: On
October 3, MHLW announced that a Japanese man in his
thirties had been infected with the West Nile fever, the
first case of the disease in Japan. The person, a resident
of Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, likely became infected by
the disease when he traveled to the United States between
late August and early September. He said that a mosquito
bit him. He came down with a fever upon returning to
Japan, and has since then recovered.


13. Thalidomide Imports Increase: MHLW will begin
operating a system to register the use of Thalidomide by
medical doctors this upcoming May. The drug was banned in
1962 in Japan, but recently doctors have been importing the
drug privately because some overseas researchers have found
it to be effective in treating patients with multiple
myeloma, a cancer that arises in plasma cells. In JFY2004,
530,000 capsules were imported. When doctors import the
drug, they will be required to register with the government
information on the patient taking Thalidomide, such as sex
and age, the disease being targeted, and dose of the drug
being administered.

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Safety and Security
--------------


14. Japan Will Use Simulation System to help Prepare for
Possible Terror Attacks: The GOJ will use a simulation
system to predict damage in preparation for a large-scale
terror attack in JFY2006. When the terror attack occurs,
the system will estimate the number of deaths and the
locations of dangerous or contaminated areas that change
over time by using data on geography and climate. The
system enables the central and local governments to respond
to an attack quickly based on the predictions. The
National Police Agency and the Self-Defense Forces will
also use the system for evaluation and to conduct drills
for local residents.


15. Japan, UK and France Cooperate on S&T for Safe and
Secure Society: Japan agreed with the UK and France to
cooperate on R&D focusing on technologies for a safe and
secure society (SSS) on January 16th and 17th respectively,
which includes technologies to detect explosives and
biological agents which can be used for terrorism and for
identifying illegal copies of brand name products by using
IC tags. Specific subjects for the cooperation will be
discussed under the bilateral S&T cooperative agreements
with the UK and France. The two countries may form a
workshop on S&T for a SSS similar to what the US and Japan
currently have in place.

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Space
--------------


16. Supersonic Plane Succeeds in Test Flight: The Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) which is developing a
next-generation supersonic airliner, successfully conducted
a 15-minute flight experiment at the Woomera test site in
southern Australia on October 10. The unmanned scale
model, which measured 11.5 meters long and 4.7 meters wide
and weighed two tons, was launched by a rocket. It
separated from the rocket at an altitude of 19 km and
glided at twice the speed of sound. It was the second test
for the project. The first test flight in July 2002 failed
and ended in a fiery crash.


17. Japan's Probe Lands on Asteroid: On November 26, the
Japanese space probe Hayabusa landed on the asteroid
Itokawa for the second time and tried to collect surface
samples, but it may have failed. If it really took the
samples, it would be the first time in the world that soil
samples have been taken from an asteroid. After the
landing, JAXA announced that Hayabusa's return to Earth
would be postponed by three years to 2010 June due to a
problem involving the probe's attitude control engine, but
it is feared that the probe will not return. The space
probe was launched on M-5 rocket in 2003 and reached the
Itokawa more than two years later.


18. H2A Rockets Successfully Launched: On January 24,
Japan's H2A rocket carrying a land-observation satellite
was launched successfully. The launch of the No.8 version
of the H2A rocket carrying the Advance Land Observing
Satellite, nicknamed "Daichi" was originally scheduled for
January 19, but it was postponed due to a malfunction in
one of the rocket's telemetry transmitters for sending data
on flight and rocket conditions to the ground. It is the
first mission for an H2A since the successful launch of the
seventh rocket with a multifunctional transport satellite
in February 2005. Prime Minister Koizumi commented that
the successful launch following the seventh rocket launch
showed steady progress of Japan's space development.
Following the launch, another H2A rocket was also lifted
off on February 18 and successfully put into orbit a MTSAT-
2 satellite for weather observation and air traffic
control.

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Other developments
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19. Japan's S&T Budget for JFY2006 Approved: On March 27,
the Diet approved the budget for JFY2006 drafted by the GOJ
on December 24 (See ref C for the preliminary budget
request for JFY2006). The total budget for S&T-related
projects is Yen 3,573.3 billion (USD 31 billion),0.1
percent less than JFY2005's actual allocated budget. MEXT's
S&T budget for JFY2006 will be Yen 2303.7 billion (USD 20
billion),0.1 percent less than its budget in JFY2005. The
table below shows the JFY2006 S&T-related budget which will
be allocated to major S&T-related ministries and agencies,
such as the Ministries of Education, Science and Technology
(MEXT); Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW); Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF); Economy, Trade and Industry
(METI); Land, Infrastructure and Transportation (MLIT);
Environment (MOE); Internal Affairs and Communication
(MIC); the National Police Agency (NPA); and the Defense
Agency (JDA):

Ministry/ Yen USD Change from JFY2005
Agency (billion) (billion) (percent)
-------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
MEXT 2303.7 20.0 down 0.1
MHLW 130.8 1.14 up 1.3
MAFF 120.5 1.05 up 1.1
METI 558.1 4.85 down 5.5

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MLIT 78.2 0.68 down 5.7
MOE 28.7 0.25 down 0.1
MIC 74.9 0.65 down 9.5
NPA 2.1 0.02 down 1.1
JDA 183.6 1.60 up 27.0


20. Japan's Third S&T Basic Plan Approved: On March 28,
The cabinet approved Japan's Third Five-Year Basic Plan for
Science and Technology Policy, covering JFY2006 to JFY2010
which was drafted by Japan's Council for Science and
Technology Policy (CSTP) chaired by Prime Minister Koizumi.
The CSTP designated five projects as technologies critical
to maintaining Japan's S&T competitiveness, including a
next generation super computer, an advanced ocean earth
observation system, a fast breeder reactor, a new space
transport system and an x-ray free electron laser. The
Ministry of Finance has allocated Yen 25 trillion (USD217
billion) for the GOJ's R&D investment budget for the five
years covered by the plan. The cabinet approved the plan
on March 28. The Third Basic Plan can be viewed at:
http://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/english/basic/3rd- BasicPlan_06-
10.pdf
For further details see ref D.


21. Japan Accelerating Development of Domestic Commercial
Jets: Major Japanese manufacturers are accelerating their
development of small and mid-size commercial jets with a
view to growing demand in Asian markets. Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries is developing a prototype jet having 70-90
seats. The company aims at improving the energy efficiency
of the jet by 21 percent from the competitors. The company
estimates that the market will demand 4700 jets of this
size over the next 20 years. Kawasaki Heavy Industries is
also going to develop a jet having 125 seats. Honda
Company had a successful experimental flight of a six-seat
jet and seeking a chance to place it on the market.

SCHIEFFER