Uzbek Uranium Industry Hit by Japan Nuclear Crisis

Experts say problems at Japan’s nuclear power plants will slow uranium production in Uzbekistan.

The earthquake and tsunami did serious damage to the Fukushima-1 plant and raised questions about the safety of the Japanese nuclear industry.

With 17 working nuclear power stations and at least ten reactors under development, Japan is keen to source uranium on the world market, and Uzbekistan is an obvious choice, ranked seventh in the world for production.

President Islam Karimov’s visit to Japan in February resulted in a supply deal and agreements to secure investment to various industries, which should bring in much-needed new technologies.

Uranium sales to Japan are currently governed by a 2006 agreement with the Itochu Corporation for deliveries of at least 500 tonnes a year; the deal runs out next year.

Now, however, a Tashkent-based commentator argues that "Tokyo’s interest in Uzbekistan’s uranium reserves has fallen as a result of the Fukushima-1 accident."

Dmitry Abzalov, an expert at the Russian Centre for Political Trends, believes Japan will shelve plans to invest in Uzbekistan for several months, but will return to them once the nuclear emergency has come to an end.

Almost all of Uzbekistan’s exports go through a United States affiliate of the German company RWE Nukem GmbH, which has a contract with the Navoi mining enterprise in the west of the country.

This article was produced as part of IWPR's News Briefing Central Asia output, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.