Industry minister Ken Saito has asked the mayor of the town of Genkai in Saga Prefecture to accept a so-called literature survey, as part of the process for selecting a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear plants.

Saito sought understanding from Genkai Mayor Shintaro Wakiyama at a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday, saying that "the literature survey is not directly connected to the selection."

Last month, the Genkai town assembly approved a petition submitted by local business groups asking for the literature survey request to be accepted.

"I'm torn between the town assembly's decision and my thinking," Wakiyama told reporters after the meeting with Saito. The mayor said that he will make a decision by the end of this month.

A literature survey is the first of three stages in the selection process for disposal sites, and involves the condition of geological strata being examined on paper, based on maps and other data.

So far, a literature survey has been accepted only by the town of Suttsu and the village of Kamoenai, both in Hokkaido.

For a literature survey to be conducted, a local government must apply for or accept a central government request.