In 2001, the Finnish Parliament approved the plan for a high-level nuclear waste (HLW) repository in Finland, the first move of its kind worldwide. This article analyzes the historical background of radioactive waste policy formation in Finland, comparing it to that of (West) Germany in the Cold War context and after. Military ambitions and non-proliferation, political culture and civil society, and energy policy are considered. In Germany, reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), which could make nuclear armament possible, was pursued until 1989 and often spurred opposition movements. Finland, in contrast, renounced reprocessing around 1980. In addition, there was a notable absence of a strong nationwide anti-nuclear movement in Finland against the backdrop of the Cold War.

“Wismut” was the code name of the uranium mine located in the East German provinces of Saxony and Thuringia. It was founded to supply the Soviet Union with materials for nuclear weapons. Under harsh conditions, miners received various material benefits. However, the work at Wismut led to health problems for workers and caused environmental damage. After German reunification, the Wismut GmbH Company was founded to carry out a clean-up operation. Despite spending enormous amounts of time and money, the restoration and decontamination of the area is not complete. The discourse over Wismut should not be mere nostalgia of hard mining work or the success of decontamination. A perspective is needed that connects the victims of Wismut with that of other nuclear sites as “Global Hibakusha.”

This article addresses the question of what has contributed to the difference between German and Japanese nuclear politics in the post-Fukushima era. Germany has decided to phase out nuclear energy, but Japan has done the opposite. The origin of this difference can be traced back to the development of the anti-nuclear peace movement in the early 1980s. West Germans turned against nuclear energy as well as nuclear weapons, whereas Japanese peace activists carefully avoided the nuclear energy issue because of their concern over U.S.-Japan relations. The West German peace movement in the following years was in a position to foster cooperation between East and West Germans, whereas the Japanese movement missed the chance to go beyond the Cold War mentality.