In 1967, a special law established PNC with the mission to develop indigenous fast breeder reactors and their associated fuel cycle technologies. This mission endured after the Monju accident in 1995 when PNC was renamed the Japan Nuclear Fuel Cycle Development Institute (JNC). JNC subsequently merged with the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI), a national research institution responsible for fundamental nuclear technology (including fusion) and nuclear safety research and in 2006 it became the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). JAEA was established with the continued mission of developing fast breeder reactor and fuel cycle technologies. With this legal commitment to fast breeder reactor programs, it may not be easy for Japan to change its nuclear research agenda.