Japan faces a 16-tonne plutonium question

Tokyo

STILL dealing with the huge clean-up after the Fukushima crisis and debating its future use of atomic energy, Japan now faces another nuclear conundrum - what to do with 16 tonnes of its plutonium sitting in France after being reprocessed there.

The question will be among the issues that come under the spotlight on Thursday and Friday as nuclear proliferation specialists meet legislators and government officials in Tokyo.

With its reactor fleet shut down in the wake of Fukushima, Japan is unable to take fuel made from the plutoni…