Japan's huge stockpiles of plutonium pose risks

China is justified in raising concerns over Japan's excessive accumulation of sensitive nuclear materials and its imbalance in the supply and demand of nuclear materials. And the international community has good reason to ask how the island country is going to use its huge stockpile of plutonium.

At a discussion on nuclear disarmament at the first committee of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, China's Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs Fu Cong warned Japan's nuclear material stockpile gives rise to grave risks both in terms of nuclear security and nuclear proliferation.

"At present, Japan possesses about 1,200 kilograms of highly-enriched uranium and about 47.8 tons of separated plutonium, among which 10.8 tons are stored on Japanese territory, enough to make 1,350 nuclear warheads," said Fu.