Hokkaido Town Mayor Backing N-Waste Survey Re-Elected

Newsfrom Japan

Society

Oct 29, 2025 13:52 (JST)

Suttsu, Hokkaido, Oct. 29 (Jiji Press)–Suttsu Mayor Haruo Kataoka, who supports proceeding to the next-stage survey to select a final disposal site for high-level nuclear waste, has been re-elected for a seventh consecutive term in the northern Japan town.

The 76-year-old independent incumbent defeated former town council member Shingo Ogushi, 42, who also ran as an independent, in Tuesday’s mayoral election in the town of Suttsu in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido.

The town has completed the first-stage literature survey in the disposal site selection process. Kataoka advocates moving forward to the next-stage survey that involves drilling work to examine the strata. Ogushi, on the other hand, opposes the move.

“We will lay out a path toward making the town, whose population is decreasing, sustainable” by receiving financial assistance for cooperation concerning the second-stage survey, Kataoka said.

Ogushi called for a renewal of the town government, arguing that the debate over nuclear waste has caused division. But his message failed to resonate with voters.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]

Jiji Press