Industry Minister Ken Saito has asked the mayor of Genkai City in Saga Prefecture to accept a so-called literature review as part of the process for selecting a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants.
Saito sought understanding from Genkai Mayor Shintaro Wakiyama at a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday, saying that “the literature review is not directly related to the selection.”
Last month, the Genkai City Council approved a petition filed by local business groups asking for the literature review request to be accepted.
“I’m torn between the council’s decision and my way of thinking,” Wakiyama told reporters after the meeting with Saito. The mayor said he will make a decision by the end of this month.
A literature review is the first of three stages in the disposal site selection process and involves examining the condition of geological layers on paper, based on maps and other data.
So far, a literature review has only been accepted by Suttsu town and Kamoenai village, both in Hokkaido.
To conduct a literature review, a local government must apply for or accept a request from the central government.
