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Japan Company Sold Atomic Plant to Libya

A Japanese company supplied Libya decades ago with a key piece of the technology needed to make nuclear weapons, and the Japanese government must have known about the transaction, diplomats told The Associated Press on Friday. One diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the 1984 sale of a uranium conversion plant as a “flagrant example” of the failure of export controls meant to keep such equipment away from rogue nations and terrorists. Such plants are used in the process of enriching uranium that at lower levels can be used to generate power but at levels above 90 percent — or weapons grade — can be used in nuclear warheads. The company was not named. Full Story