TOKYO, March 22 (Xinhua) -- A ship carrying 331 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium left a port in Ibaraki Prefecture, eastern Japan, on Tuesday en route to the United States.
The transportation of the highly pure plutonium, which has been confirmed as enough to make as many as 50 nuclear bombs, follows a bilateral deal struck between Japan and the United States in 2014.
Originally, the plutonium was provided to Japan by Britain, France and the United States in the 1970s and was purportedly to be used for research purposes and was being stored by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency in Tokaimura, in Ibaraki.
Specifically, the United States provided 93 kg, Britain 236 kg and France 2kg. The total amount is enough to create between 40 to 50 atomic bombs, experts have maintained.
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