Japanese PM Apologizes for Officials' Idea to Set Up Nuclear Waste Dump in Kuril Islands
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba apologized in parliament for the idea of two Japanese officials to organize a joint nuclear waste disposal site with Russia on the Southern Kuril Islands, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.
Officials suggested that Tokyo do this if the islands were transferred to its jurisdiction.
This [statement] should not have happened. I believe there was negligence or arrogance. As a responsible government official, I apologize.
- the politician said in response to a question from Hiroshi Kamiya, a deputy from the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party.
In turn, the minister economics, the country's Minister of Trade and Industry Yoji Muto and the Minister for Okinawa and the "Northern Territories," as Japan calls Russia's southern Kuril Islands, Yoshitaka Ito, said they were surprised by these statements.
Hiroshi Kamiya asked the government not to allow officials to make similar statements in the future, as they “hurt” former Japanese residents of the Kuril Islands. He also expressed concern that the initiative could be perceived as a wrong signal and have a negative impact on foreign relations. policies in relation to the Russian Federation.
A symposium was held in Tokyo in January to discuss the choice of a site for the disposal of radioactive waste from Japanese nuclear power plants. During the event, one of the guests voiced the idea of agreeing with Russia to hand over four Kuril Islands to Japan on the condition that they jointly create a nuclear waste disposal zone there. In response, officials from the Japan Nuclear Waste Management Organization and the country's Natural Resources and Energy Administration responded positively to the proposal.
One of them called it "a wonderful, albeit difficult to implement proposal," while another noted that such disposal of nuclear waste "would kill several birds with one stone." The officials' statements provoked a negative reaction from the authorities of Hokkaido Prefecture, which borders Russia. The authorities called the statements reckless and unacceptable, and protested to the agencies. The officials themselves later apologized for their words, calling them ill-considered.
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