Nagasaki Tsushima Chamber of Commerce and Industry Discusses Investigation of "Nuclear Garbage" Disposal Site City Council Petition

Regarding the selection of a site for disposal of high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tsushima City, Nagasaki Prefecture, has decided to submit a petition to the city council requesting discussion on the acceptance of the "literature survey," which is the first stage of the survey.

The law stipulates that "geological disposal" of "nuclear waste" is carried out by setting up a final disposal site deeper than 300 meters underground and burying it, and it is supposed to conduct a three-stage survey over a period of about 20 years to select a disposal site.

On the 3th, the board of directors of the Tsushima City Chamber of Commerce and Industry discussed whether to submit a petition to the city council requesting discussion on the acceptance of the "literature survey," which is the first phase of the investigation.

The consultation was held behind closed doors, and according to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as a result of a preliminary survey of 19 members of the association, a majority of 1% of the total respondents "agreed" to submit a petition.

Based on this questionnaire, the Board of Directors discussed the matter and decided on a policy to submit a petition.

The Chamber of Commerce plans to submit a petition to the City Council starting in late June.

Hiromi Yamamoto, chairman of the Tsushima City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, "As the population continues to decline, I would like to request careful discussion at the city council on whether accepting literature surveys is good for the future of Tsushima."

The literature survey is a survey that takes about two years to investigate the activity of volcanoes and faults, and is currently being conducted in two municipalities in Hokkaido, and up to 117 billion yen is paid as a grant from the government to the target municipalities.

In Tsushima City, construction industry groups last week decided to submit a petition asking the city to apply for a "literature survey," while some civic groups decided to submit a petition against it, which is controversial on the island.