A special committee of the assembly of the southwestern city of Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, voted Wednesday to adopt a petition calling on the city to accept a survey to examine whether it is suited to host a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear plants.
The full assembly is highly likely to adopt the petition on Sept. 12, the first day of a regular session. The focus will then be on a decision by Mayor Naoki Hitakatsu, who is seen as cautious about accepting the survey.
Such surveys are currently being conducted in the town of Suttsu and the village of Kamoenai, both in Hokkaido.
State subsidies of up to ¥2 billion will be provided to those accepting a survey.
On Wednesday, the Tsushima assembly panel voted on eight petitions on whether to accept a survey.
The panel approved by a majority vote a petition from the local construction industry calling for accepting the survey, as well as one from the Tsushima chamber of commerce and industry calling for discussions on a final disposal site.
The other six petitions from local fishery cooperatives and others opposing the survey were voted down.
After the petitions were submitted, the Tsushima assembly set up the special committee in June. The committee received explanations about the survey from officials of the industry ministry's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan, which is in charge of conducting the survey.
The survey is regarded as the first stage of the process to select a final disposal site.
In order to proceed to the second stage, a drilling survey, the consent of the head of the municipality and the prefectural governor is necessary.