japan has been continually buying uranium from rio tinto which negates some of the stories floating around about japan maybe not needing uranium due to their stockpile levels.
Meanwhile, Mr Walsh said Japanese nuclear power companies were continuing to buy uranium from Rio, despite all 50 of Japan's nuclear power stations being turned off since the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in March 2011.
Rio has exposure to uranium through assets in Namibia, Canada and Australia's Northern Territory, and Mr Walsh said depressed prices for the mineral would eventually improve.
"There will be an uptick in uranium prices, the question is when and how long until we expect that. Even with the cutbacks in Japan we are still receiving some orders for uranium from Japan," he said.
"It is showing the nuclear companies there are expecting that there will be a need to bring back nuclear reactors in Japan that meet all the safety standards and all of the changes that have come through.
Meanwhile we are seeing in China, and elsewhere, commitment to further nuclear power stations and even in the UK there is a commitment to another nuclear power station."
A nuclear power station on Japan's south coast is expected to be the first to resume later this month, and has already had fuel loaded into it.
