Ogasawara head agrees to survey for nuke waste disposal site | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis (original) (raw)

The mayor of Ogasawara village in Tokyo announced on April 13 that he would accept a central government proposal to conduct a literature survey for a final nuclear waste disposal site on Minami-Torishima island.

Speaking at an explanatory meeting for residents, Masaaki Shibuya said, “I have concluded that the central government should make the decision with initiative and responsibility.”

Minami-Torishima is a remote, government-owned island with no permanent residents.

Although it falls under the jurisdiction of Ogasawara village, it is located approximately 1,950 kilometers southeast of central Tokyo and about 1,200 km from Chichijima island, where the village office is located.

The central government first proposed the survey to the village on March 3. Municipalities that agree to the survey, the first step in a three-step selection process, are eligible for up to 2 billion yen ($12.5 million) in government grants.

A total of 308 people, about 10 percent of the village's population, attended subsequent explanatory meetings held on March 14 on Chichijima island and March 21 on Hahajima island.

Attendees reportedly raised concerns about the survey and final disposal, countermeasures for potential reputational damage, and how the project would affect the development of rare-earth elements on the seabed around Minami-Torishima.

The village on April 1 announced that the mayor would deliver his position directly to residents at the April 13 meeting.

(This article was written by Akiko Tada and senior staff writer Eisuke Sasaki.)