On 30 September, Suzuki, mayor of Hitachiomiya in Ibaraki, said that after careful consideration the city would accept a literature survey by the industry ministry. The survey is part of selecting a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear plants. A Tokyo radio programme discussed the announcement on 1 October, opening with a report from a Tokyo newspaper. The station's account of the broadcast is dated 2 October 2026.
Aoki, a commentator on the programme, said a municipality that accepts a literature survey can receive up to 2 billion yen. He said four places are already ahead: Suttsu and Kamoenai in Hokkaido, Genkai in Saga, and Ogasawara in Tokyo, and that Hitachiomiya would follow them. The write-up noted that accepting a literature survey does not, on its own, decide that a disposal facility will be built.
Kaneko, also on the programme, said nuclear plants cannot deal with the waste, so it keeps building up, and that no decision has been made on where to put material that does not diminish across tens of thousands of years, or hundreds of thousands. He said the places offering to host nuclear plants or a final disposal site are rural areas he called depopulated, and that sending bases, plants and waste facilities there leaves those areas poorer and harder to live in. The programme continued the discussion in more detail.
Another municipality has accepted a literature survey for a high-level waste disposal site, and the broadcast said that step alone does not decide construction.
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