Tsushima mayor refuses nuclear waste disposal candidate site survey | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News - NHK WORLD

Tsushima mayor refuses nuclear waste disposal candidate site survey | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

The mayor of Tsushima city in southwestern Japan says he refuses to accept the first-stage government survey to examine whether the area can be a candidate as a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste.

Hitakatsu Naoki, who is the mayor of the remote island city in Nagasaki Prefecture, announced the decision on the final day of a city assembly session on Wednesday.

Earlier on September 12, the city assembly adopted a petition calling for the city's acceptance of the so-called literature survey. Ten assembly members voted in favor and eight against.

The mayor has the final say on whether to accept the survey.

Hitakatsu told the assembly session that while he took into account the assembly's decision, he decided not to accept the survey after careful consideration of the future well-being of Tsushima residents.

The mayor is expected to explain his view at a news conference scheduled for later Wednesday.

Japan has yet to have a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from the country's nuclear power plants.

A Japanese law calls for such waste to be buried in a final disposal site built more than 300 meters underground.

The government is conducting a selection process in three stages to choose the site.

The initial survey has been underway since 2020 in two municipalities in Hokkaido, northern Japan.