Japan Govt to Ask Genkai Town to Accept N-Waste Site Survey

   Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)--Japan's industry ministry plans to ask the town of Genkai, Saga Prefecture, on Wednesday to accept a "literature survey" for a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear plants, it was learned Tuesday.
   This will be the second time for the central government to ask a municipality to accept such a survey, which looks into papers and data to judge the suitability for hosting a final disposal site. The first request was made in 2020 to the village of Kamoenai in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.
   The literature survey, the first of the three stages in the process of selecting a final disposal site, requires a local government application or approval of a request from the national government.
   On Friday, the Genkai town assembly in the southwestern region adopted a petition to accept a literature survey filed by local groups. Genkai Mayor Shintaro Wakiyama is expected to make a final decision on whether to accept the survey by the end of May.
   The central government apparently hopes that its planned request will help encourage the mayor to accept the survey.

(2024/04/30-19:25)

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