Eastern Japan City Accepts 1st-Stage Survey for N-Waste Site

Hitachiomiya, Ibaraki Pref., Sept. 30 (Jiji Press)--The mayor of Hitachiomiya in Ibaraki Prefecture said Wednesday that the eastern Japan city will accept a literature survey for choosing a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants in the country.

"After repeated careful consideration, I've decided to accept" the survey, Sadayuki Suzuki told a press conference held at the city government office.

The final disposal of nuclear waste is "a pressing task for the country," Suzuki said. "Contributing to the national policy as a municipality will be extremely meaningful."

Hitachiomiya is the fifth site in the country to accept a literature survey, after the town of Suttsu and the village of Kamoenai, both in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, the town of Genkai in the southwestern prefecture of Saga and Minamitorishima, a remote Tokyo island. The Ibaraki city is the first in the country's Honshu main island to agree to the survey.

Up to 2 billion yen in state subsidies will be provided to each municipality that accepts a literature survey, the first stage of the three-tier process to choose a final disposal site.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]