Radiactive waste site won't be nationalised

July 28, 2014

Govt. won't nationalize radioactive storage site

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140728_30.html 

The government says it will allow landowners to keep their property rights for the land where it will build temporary storage facilities for radioactive debris in Fukushima Prefecture. It had originally planned to buy the land for the facilities.

Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara and Reconstruction Minister Takumi Nemoto met Fukushima Prefecture Governor Yuhei Sato and the mayors of Futaba and Okuma in Tokyo on Monday. The two towns host the crippled nuclear power plant.

The government had planned to buy land from landowners in the towns to build the intermediate storage facilities for radioactive soil and waste from the nuclear power plant. But some landowners had refused to sell.

The ministers said the central government will offer those landowners the right to retain their land. The government says it will obtain the right to use the land for up to 30 years.

They also said the government will provide rough compensation figures for the land after local governments and residents accept the construction plans.

Ishihara said the government has offered as much as it can at this point. He said he hopes the local governments will accept the construction of the facilities as they are vital for decontamination and recovery work.

Governor Sato said the central government has accepted the landowners' opinions. But he said it still has not come up with concrete measures to revive communities and rebuild residents' lives.

Jul. 28, 2014 - Updated 12:59 UTC