The government must face up to the fact that there is no easy solution to the disposal of nuclear waste that will continue to be generated from nuclear power plants.
Two municipalities in Hokkaido that have applied for hosting the final deposal site for high-level radioactive waste have received mostly clean bills of health in the first survey and can move on to the next stage.
SUTTSU, Hokkaido Backers of keeping their town on a list of candidates for a nuclear waste depository won a majority in a municipal assembly election here, but those opposed to the project together marshaled 49 percent of the votes.
The mayor of Tsushima in southwestern Japan says he has decided against applying for a preliminary survey to gauge the city's suitability to host an underground disposal site for highly radioactive waste.