The mayor of a town in western Japan says he has decided to accept a first-stage survey to choose a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste.

Genkai Mayor Wakiyama Shintaro made the announcement on Friday.

The town in Saga Prefecture is the third Japanese municipality to accept this type of survey, following Suttu Town and Kamoenai Village, both in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido.

Genkai hosts a nuclear power plant operated by Kyushu Electric Power Company. The survey will be the first of its kind in a municipality where a nuclear plant is located.

In April, the town assembly approved a petition calling for the initial survey. Last week, the central government asked the town to accept the survey.