Japan did not declare around 640kg of unused plutonium in its reports submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2012 and 2013, Kyodo News Agency reports.
The Japanese government claims to own 44 tons of plutonium, when in the fact actual amount is 45 tons. The unreported material, kept as as mixed oxide (MOX) fuel, a plutonium-uranium mixture that can be burned in a reactor, was found at an offline reactor at a nuclear plant in the country's southern Saga prefecture.
The MOX was loaded into the reactor in March 2011, just before the Tōhoku disaster and subsequent Fukushima nuclear crisis later that month.
The material was taken out two years later while the reactor remained offline. This technicality has led to an official from Japan's Atomic Energy Commission reasoning that the plutonium is considered used and is therefore exempt from being reported to the IAEA.
However, experts both in Japan and globally have dismissed the claims, explaining that this does not affect the actual state of the unused plutonium, which could still be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.
"From the safeguards point of view this material is still un-irradiated fresh MOX fuel regardless of its location," former IAEA Deputy Director General Olli Heinonen said. "If it has, indeed, not been irradiated, this should be reflected in the statements."
Japan keeps the largest amount of plutonium among non-nuclear nations, claiming to keep 9.3 tons within the country and another 35 tons in the UK and France. The actual figures would mean Japan actually keeps around 10 tons at home, according to Kyodo News Agency.
The nation's behaviour and alleged secrecy has led to regional worries over Japan's motives, while global concerns have surfaced regarding the security of these nuclear fuel reserves.
China in particular has seen relations with Japan fluctuate in recent years, with one retired PLA officer recently claiming the two countries may be heading close to war.
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