About 229 tons of high-level radioactive liquid waste from test operations at the Rokkasho plant remains unprocessed, according to Tokyo Shimbun. ^[1] Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is conducting an initial survey of Hitachiomiya in Ibaraki Prefecture as a potential location for permanent high-level nuclear waste disposal. ^[2] At a dialogue between civic groups and Japanese regulators at the Diet on 2026-08-01, officials of the Nuclear Regulation Authority stated that processing all the waste is not included in the pre-use permit criteria for the reprocessing facility, according to Tokyo Shimbun. ^[3] Matsuda Natsuka, director of the international environmental group FoE Japan, said at the rally on 2026-08-01 that the reprocessing plant produces high-level radioactive liquid waste too dangerous for human access, and that past vitrification test operations failed due to various problems. ^[4] Mayor Sadayuki Suzuki of Hitachiomiya stated on 2026-08-31 that he views the proposal positively but will wait to hear from city council members before making a final decision. ^[5] The Japanese government offers financial subsidies of up to 2 billion yen to municipalities that agree to participate in the initial survey phase of the nuclear waste disposal site selection process. ^[6] A 29-year-old local resident working at a dental clinic expressed concern about the project due to recent earthquakes and demanded strong scientific proof of safety from the central government. ^[7]