Kaminoseki Mayor Tetsuo Nishi has won re-election, handing fresh political momentum to controversial plans to build an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the western Japanese town.
The victory is significant for Japan’s nuclear energy programme because it was the first mayoral election in Kaminoseki since the storage proposal emerged in 2023, effectively putting Nishi’s support for the project before voters as the country grapples with limited space to store spent fuel from its nuclear reactors.
Nishi, 79, defeated Koji Hara, a 54-year-old businessman who opposed the mayor’s approach and argued that nuclear policy had divided the community.
During the campaign, Nishi defended the proposed facility partly on economic grounds, saying nuclear-related government subsidies could support child-rearing programmes and other welfare services in the ageing town.
The project is being pursued by Chugoku Electric Power, which began studying the suitability of its Kaminoseki site in 2023, in cooperation with Kansai Electric Power.
In August 2025, Chugoku Electric concluded after a two-year feasibility study that there were no technical obstacles that could not be addressed in constructing an interim storage facility at the site. The assessment examined geological conditions, active faults, volcanic and tsunami risks, as well as environmental and transport considerations.
The company is now expected to develop more detailed plans covering the facility’s scale and construction, although a final decision to build it has yet to be made.
If approved and completed, Kaminoseki would become Japan’s second off-site interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility, after the facility in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, which began operations in 2024.
The storage proposal has also given Kaminoseki a new role in Japan’s long-running nuclear debate. Chugoku Electric had previously planned to build a nuclear power station in the town, but preparatory work was suspended following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
Japan has since moved towards greater use of nuclear power as it seeks to strengthen energy security and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels. That revival, however, has renewed pressure on utilities to find additional storage space for spent nuclear fuel.
Interim facilities allow used nuclear fuel to be stored in dry casks for decades before it is eventually reprocessed or otherwise disposed of.
For Kaminoseki, the debate therefore extends beyond whether to host another nuclear facility. It pits the economic benefits and government support associated with the industry against longstanding concerns over nuclear safety, waste management and the divisions such projects can create within host communities.