Tsushima Halts Nuclear Waste Disposal Site Bid... "Concerns Over Decrease in Korean Tourists"

Final Decision Maker Mayor Hitakatsu Rejects

Tsushima Island in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, has decided to halt efforts to host a high-level radioactive waste disposal facility. This move was taken out of concern that sales of Tsushima's seafood and the number of Korean tourists would sharply decline.

According to Kyodo News and NHK, Naoki Hitakatsu, mayor of Tsushima City, appeared before the city council on the 27th and announced that he would not cooperate with the government's literature survey for selecting a site for the high-level radioactive waste disposal facility. Earlier, on the 12th, the Tsushima City Council had adopted a petition from local groups requesting acceptance of the literature survey, which is the first step in hosting the disposal facility.

Naoki Hitakatsu, Mayor of Tsushima, Japan (photo), announced on the 27th at the Tsushima City Council in Nagasaki Prefecture that he will not respond to the literature survey for the high-level radioactive waste disposal site. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Mayor Hitakatsu cited insufficient public consensus and potential damage to the fishing and tourism industries as reasons for rejecting the literature survey request. Tsushima City, which has no significant industries other than tourism and fisheries, saw its population decline from about 41,000 in 2000 to 28,000 in 2020. With the population decrease and the impact of COVID-19 causing a sharp drop in Korean tourists, the chamber of commerce and others argued that accepting the literature survey could bring about 2 billion yen (approximately 18 billion KRW) in grants, making it necessary to host the disposal facility. However, opposition arose mainly from fishermen concerned about a decline in seafood sales.

Mayor Hitakatsu also pointed out that if the high-level radioactive waste disposal facility were established, rumors would cause consumers to avoid seafood from Tsushima, and the number of tourists would decrease. The term "rumor damage," used in Japan, refers to economic losses caused by the spread of baseless rumors. Mayor Hitakatsu particularly emphasized that "there is concern it would significantly affect the decrease in Korean tourists." In 2018, it was reported that 410,000 Koreans visited Tsushima Island, accounting for 75% of all tourists.

Mayor Hitakatsu further stated regarding the disposal facility, "It is impossible to rule out risks from unforeseen factors in the future," and "We cannot exclude the possibility of radioactive material leakage due to earthquakes." Additionally, he pointed out that since Tsushima Island belongs to Nagasaki Prefecture, where the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945, local residents would find it difficult to accept the literature survey.