Nuclear waste survey will proceed on Minami-Torishima Island after Ogasawara village accepted the central government’s request. Specifically, Mayor Masaaki Shibuya announced the decision at a press conference on Monday. “If the central government is going to carry it out, we will accept the decision,” Shibuya said. The literature survey will analyze geological maps and academic papers over about two years.
This marks the fourth such survey nationwide. Previous surveys took place in Suttsu, Kamoenai, and Genkai. However, this is the first case where the central government made the request instead of the local government initiating it. The radioactive waste comes from spent fuel from nuclear power plants. After workers extract plutonium and uranium, they mix the spent fuel with glass and enclose it in stainless steel containers.
The waste emits extremely high levels of radiation. Therefore, the law requires burying it more than 300 meters underground. Minami-Torishima Island is Japan’s easternmost island and falls under Tokyo’s administration. The island sits about 1,950 kilometers southeast of central Tokyo. Additionally, it hosts about 30 Self-Defense Forces personnel but has no permanent residents.
The final disposal site will follow three phases. The literature survey comes first. A preliminary investigation to check geological structures comes second. A detailed investigation at an underground facility comes third. Consequently, the entire process will take about 20 years. The governors of Hokkaido and Saga Prefecture have opposed the preliminary investigation, thus stalling the process in those regions.
With Ogasawara accepting the request, the central government will begin preparing for the literature survey. Shibuya told residents that his decision does not mean the village will approve construction of a disposal site. He also told the central government to increase the number of candidate sites. Moreover, he expressed hope that the survey will foster broader public understanding and discussion regarding disposal. Japan continues to accumulate radioactive waste at nuclear plant sites. Therefore, this nuclear waste survey addresses a growing storage crisis on a remote, uninhabited island.
