TOKYO -- The decision Jan. 16 to automatically extend a nuclear agreement with the U.S. came as a relief to a Japanese government worried about the prospect of renegotiating the basis for a cornerstone of its energy policy. But friction remains over a massive store of plutonium that highlights the problems with the nation's ambitious nuclear energy plans.
International relations
Japan's plutonium glut casts a shadow on renewed nuclear deal
American concerns about potential diversion of idle fuel leave the agreement at risk
The Japanese government decided in 2016 to scrap the trouble-plagued Monju experimental fast breeder reactor, meant to be a key link in the nuclear fuel cycle.
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