Chugoku Electric Power Company says it plans to conduct a feasibility survey for the construction of a facility to temporally store spent nuclear fuel in a town in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan.

Utility officials said on Wednesday that the survey will be held on its site in the town of Kaminoseki, jointly with Kansai Electric Power Company.

Chugoku Electric plans to build a new nuclear power plant in the town. But the construction project is at a standstill. Facing a severe fiscal situation, the town asked in February for a new regional development scheme by the utility company.

Chugoku Electric officials said the planned survey is in response to the request from the town.

They say the town will be able to receive subsidies from the central government once the survey begins.

The power company also says that if Kaminoseki Town agrees, it will study documents and conduct drilling surveys at the site for about six months, after a preparatory period of at least one month.

Chugoku Electric managing executive officer Osedo Satoshi said the plan would help the town's development and facilitate stable operations of the firm's Shimane nuclear power plant. In addition, he said it would also help enhance efforts to increase the storage capacity of spent fuel through the collaboration of nuclear plant operators. The firm's official added that the company plans to explain to residents the need for building the facility and its safety.

Spent fuel rods have been filling up pools at nuclear power plants across Japan, mainly due to a delay in the construction of a nuclear fuel reprocessing facility in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan.

Kansai Electric says 82 percent of its fuel pools are full.
The utility has been asked by Fukui Prefecture, home to a number of nuclear plants, to transport spent fuel out of the prefecture.

It is an urgent matter for regional power companies to secure interim storage sites.

But, residents protested in front of the Kaminoseki town office Wednesday morning. They tried to block the entry of officials of Chugoku Electric who came to explain the plan, prompting the dispatch of police there. The protestors called on the utility officials to leave and asked them why they want to build "another dangerous facility" in the town.