Hitachiomiya Mayor Accepts Request for Nuclear Waste Repository Survey

The rural Japanese town of Hitachiomiya sprawls down the Naka River valley in northwest Ibaraki prefecture, surrounded by lush forests and overlooked by the picturesque Yamizo mountains. Just 140km (87 miles) from Tokyo, its golf courses attract weekend players, while onsen hot spring resorts in the surrounding hills keep local business steady year-round.

The local tourism association’s website highlights traditional festivals, campsites, hiking and cycling routes, alongside unique sights – including a complex of cave tombs on Mount Raijin, an ancient cedar grove and centuries-old temples and shrines.

Today, however, tourism representatives and municipal officials are more tight-lipped about the area’s attractions.

This week, Hitachiomiya Mayor Sadayuki Suzuki accepted a request from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for his community to undergo a preliminary survey to determine whether the town’s geology is suitable for a repository to store Japan’s large – and growing – stockpile of highly radioactive nuclear waste.

In a statement issued on Monday, Suzuki said the area showed a “relatively high probability of exhibiting favourable characteristics according to the scientific characteristics map”, adding that land was available “to install above-ground facilities for final disposal”.