Japan eyes Pacific site for nuclear waste

TOKYO:

Japan is looking into using a remote deserted Pacific island nearly 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) from Tokyo as a site for burying nuclear waste, officials said.

Nuclear power is making a comeback worldwide, but finding permanent storage sites for spent fuel — which can be hazardous for many thousands of years — is a huge challenge.

Japan is no exception as it pivots back towards "maximum use of nuclear power" in a safe manner, according to its energy policy, 15 years after the Fukushima disaster.

The government wants to conduct a preliminary survey on Minamitorishima, Japan's easternmost island in the Pacific, to see if it is fit to host a facility.

State-owned Minamitorishima, uninhabited by civilians and off-limits to tourists, has "some unexplored landmass capable of hosting a facility," industry minister Ryosei Akazawa told reporters Tuesday.

The triangle-shaped island surrounded by coral atoll also has some "scientifically favourable traits", the minister said.