Japan needs to dispose nuke waste, tainted debris in Japan: Hosono

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) - Goshi Hosono, an adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, indicated Friday that Japan should find ways to dispose of nuclear waste and radiation-contaminated debris inside the country.
''Basically, we should make efforts to resolve the issue within Japan,'' Hosono, who is on a three-day visit to Washington, said in a speech in the U.S. capital.
The Japanese government has proposed building a final disposal site in Fukushima Prefecture to deal with contaminated debris but was met with opposition from the local government.
Hosono's remarks suggest Tokyo aims to seek a venue somewhere in Japan.
In a separate event Friday, Hosono briefed senior U.S. officials about Japan's efforts to deal with the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and about a Japanese government report recently submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
After a series of talks with Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman and Thomas Nides, deputy secretary of state for management and resources, Hosono told reporters the U.S. side generally showed understanding for the Japanese report.
The Japanese lawmaker and Jaczko agreed to continue further discussions and cooperation over the disaster, according to a joint statement issued after the meeting.
Hosono is scheduled to visit Britain on Sunday and France on Monday to brief officials there on Japan's efforts to cope with the crisis as well as the report presented to the IAEA before returning to Japan on Wednesday.