Mayor Shintaro Wakiyama of Genkai, Saga Prefecture, said Friday that the city will accept a so-called literature review to determine whether it is suitable as a site for a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants.
The mayor announced the decision at a news conference following a closed-door meeting of the city council earlier in the day.
“I hope what we do in the city will spark a debate at the national level,” Wakiyama said, adding that he did not make the decision with the aim of getting subsidies.
The city will be the third municipality in the country to accept a literature review, the first step in the process of selecting a final disposal site, after Suttsu town and Kamoenai village, both in Hokkaido.
