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Nuclear shipment sparks protests in Japan
Waste to be stored in small fishing village
March 18, 1997
Web posted at: 10:40 p.m. EST (0340 GMT)ROKKASHO, Japan (CNN) -- A ship carrying about 20 tons of high-level nuclear waste arrived in the Japanese fishing and farming village of Rokkasho Tuesday, greeted by hostile protest from residents.
Japanese officials plan to store the waste, which was reprocessed in France, at a temporary facility near the village of 11,000 people, about 350 miles (560 km) northeast of Tokyo. The waste will eventually be moved to permanent disposal site but could remain in Rokkasho for as long as 50 years.
Critics says the waste should not be stored in the area because the village sits on unstable ground in an area prone to seismic activity.
The protests came just a week after an accident at Japan's only nuclear reprocessing plant heightened concerns throughout the country about nuclear waste disposal.
Tokyo bureau chief John Lewis contributed to this report.
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