Finally… The Problem With Radioactive Waste Has Been Solved! Just Dump The Shit In The Woods.
Ministry selects 2nd N-waste candidate site
The Environment Ministry said Thursday it has chosen a national forest in Takahagi, Ibaraki Prefecture, as a candidate site for the final disposal of radioactive waste from the prefecture.
The decision makes Ibaraki the second prefecture, after Tochigi, to have a candidate site chosen where radioactive waste released from Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will be dumped. Both Ibaraki and Tochigi share a border with Fukushima Prefecture.
Senior Vice Environment Minister Katsuhiko Yokomitsu informed Ibaraki Gov. Masaru Hashimoto of the ministry’s decision when the two met at the prefectural government office.
Yokomitsu said the ministry intends to carefully explain to local residents why the site has been chosen and reassure them of its safety.
Hashimoto said he will make his own decision after hearing what residents have to say.
After the meeting, Yokomitsu told reporters that the ministry has no plan to provide subsidies to regions that host final disposal facilities.
However, he said the ministry wants to discuss the possibility of providing subsidies if requested by local authorities.
Takahagi Mayor Yoshio Kusama said at a separate meeting with Yokomitsu that the city will not accept the ministry’s decision and strongly opposes it. More…
City opposes government’s plan of dumping radioactive Fukushima waste in forest
Japan’s central government continues to meet opposition in trying to find locations to serve as permanent disposal sites for radioactive waste, such as ash and mud, from Fukushima Prefecture. A 
Vice Environment Minister met with local leaders fromIbaraki Prefecture to seek their approval for dumping the waste in a national forest in Takahagi City, because, well, it’s far away from residential areas, so why not? Thankfully Takahagi Mayor Yoshio Kusama and Ibaraki Governor Masaru Hashimoto immediately refused Vice Minister Katsuhiko Yokomitsu‘s proposition.
Vice Minister Yokomitsu asked if he could address the city’s residents in order to explain that there was plenty of space in the forest, and the government would ensure the disposal facility was safe. Hopefully they would ensure more safety than they did at the Fukushima nuclear plant last year. Mayor Kusama firmly put his foot down on the idea, stating that the government made this decision abruptly and without consultation. Similar opposition was received when Yokomitsu sought the cooperation of Yaita City in Tochigi Prefecture for using a forest as a disposal site. More…
