Reports by a nuclear waste management body say two municipalities in northern Japan are candidate sites for a second-stage survey to choose a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear plants.

Yamaguchi Akira, the president of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan, or NUMO, presented reports on the first-stage survey to Suttsu Town and Kamoenai Village, as well as the governor of Hokkaido, on Friday.

NUMO started the so-called literature survey on the two municipalities in Hokkaido in 2020 as the first such research in the country.

A law requires high-level radioactive waste to be buried more than 300 meters underground at a final disposal site.

NUMO says in the reports that after it examined more than 1,800 documents, it concluded that it can move on to a second-stage survey. The reports say that the whole of Suttsu Town and a southern area of Kamoenai Village are candidate sites.

Consent is required from the mayors of the two municipalities and the Hokkaido governor to advance to the second-stage survey, which will involve boring, among other studies.

A referendum is planned in Suttsu. Hokkaido Governor Suzuki Naomichi has made it clear that he will oppose the survey, citing a prefectural ordinance against accepting nuclear waste disposal.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa told a news conference that the central government is grateful for Suttsu and Kamoenai, which have accepted the first-stage survey. He also said the selection of a final disposal site is a national issue that cannot be advanced without the understanding of local people.

Hayashi noted that the industry ministry and NUMO will work together to disseminate the content of the reports in Hokkaido and other parts of the country. He added that the central government will lead the efforts on the matter.