Gov't to take initiative on disposal sites

December 17, 2012

Gov't decides on new process to find radioactive waste disposal site

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20131217p2g00m0dm070000c.html

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The government on Tuesday officially decided to change the current process for selecting a final radioactive waste disposal site, saying the state will start by showing candidate sites that are scientifically suitable rather than wait for local governments to offer to host disposal facilities.

The decision was reached during a gathering of ministers involved in the handling of high-level radioactive waste, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told a press conference after the meeting.

The government is gearing up to finalize a mid- to long-term national energy plan, based on a draft compiled on Friday by a panel that labeled nuclear power an "important" source of electricity even after the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi complex.

The draft also said the state should play a more proactive role in resolving the stalled process to find a final repository for high-level radioactive waste, produced through spent fuel reprocessing.

Up to now, the government has been waiting for local governments to offer to host disposal facilities in principle, but there has currently been no candidate site offered.

Under the new plan, the government will first present areas that are suitable, based on scientific findings, and actively try to obtain a local consensus, government officials said.

The government is legally required to review the Basic Energy Plan at least every three years by taking into consideration changes in the energy situation.

The next energy plan will be the first to be compiled since the Fukushima disaster threw Japan's energy policy into disarray.

The previous plan compiled in 2010 aimed to boost the nation's reliance on nuclear power to some 50 percent of its energy needs in 2030 from around 30 percent before the Fukushima disaster.