寿都町長に現職６選　核ごみ調査継続へ―北海道

　原発から出る高レベル放射性廃棄物（核のごみ）の最終処分地選定の文献調査が進む北海道寿都町で２６日、任期満了に伴う町長選が投開票され、調査を推進する現職の片岡春雄氏（７２）が、調査に反対する元町議で新人の越前谷由樹氏（７０）を破り、６選を果たした。投票率は８４．０７％。得票は片岡氏が１１３５票、越前谷氏が９００票だった。
　町長選は、調査の是非を最大の争点に２０年ぶりに選挙戦となった。片岡氏の勝利を受け、調査は継続される。片岡氏は、次の段階の「概要調査」に進む前に住民投票を実施し、町民の意思を確認する方針を示している。
　当選を果たした片岡氏は「核のごみについて冷静に議論を進めたい」と述べた。敗れた越前谷氏は「町民がこの道を選んだので仕方ないが、町の将来を考えると何とも言えない」と語った。（2021/10/26-23:38）

Suttsu Mayor Haruo Kataoka was re-elected on Tuesday, receiving voter support for his decision to accept a survey to check whether the northern Japan town is suited to host a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste.
   Kataoka, 72, won a sixth consecutive term, defeating Yoshiki Echizenya, a 70-year-old former town assembly member who is opposed to the ongoing survey, in the one-on-one election.
   It was the first mayoral election in 20 years for the town in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido. Voter turnout stood at 84.07 pct.
   With Kataoka's victory, the survey, which started in November last year, is expected to continue.
   The survey, known as literature investigation, is the first of three steps of the whole research process to select a site for a permanent underground storage facility for spent nuclear fuel from power plants across the country. The first-stage survey reviews geological literature and data, including records of past earthquakes.