ABSTRACT
The geographical pattern of nuclear power plants in East Asia is very uneven and is dominated by Japan, with a smaller number of units in use in South Korea and Taiwan. China has two nuclear power plants under construction and Indonesia has been conducting feasibility studies. Until very recently, General Electric, Westinghouse and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) have been the leading exponents of nuclear power plant technology transfer, channelling scientific and engineering expertise from the USA and Canada to national programmes in East Asia. The Japan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) was set up in the Prime Minister's Office to supervise the promotion of nuclear power. Six experimental and materials-testing reactors, designated JRR or JMTR and ranging from 10 to 50 MWe, were started up between 1957 and 1963, and the decision to build the first commercial nuclear power station was taken in 1956.
