COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES THROUGH DIALOGUE IN JAPANESE GEOLOGICALDISPOSAL PROJECT OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE
Ayako Araki*, Saki Ikeda, Kumiko Ezaki, Kenichi Kaku
Communication and Public Acceptance Department
Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan (NUMO)

Key words; Communication, Dialogue, Geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste

Abstract
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan (NUMO) was established in October 2000 based on
the “Specified Radioactive Waste Final Disposal Act” as the authorized implementing entity approved by theMinister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
Our mission is the “Realization of the Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste”. Since its establishment,
NUMO has been engaging in communication and research and development (R&D) to fulfill the mission.
As a new initiative for enhancing the site selection process of geological disposal, Japanese government is
now preparing for an announcement of the “Nationwide Map of Scientific Features for Geological Disposal”,
which categorizes all areas in Japan into four categories.
In such a situation, NUMO is working on raising awareness and enhancing understanding of the geologicaldisposal project among the public. NUMO is also making efforts to listen to the opinions of the public on
geological disposal to understand what the public concerns are.
NUMO has been carrying out PR activities such as advertising on TV commercials and newspapers to raise
public awareness of geological disposal. We are currently focusing on face to face communication activities suchas holding seminars with small group discussions and outdoor events with a communication vehicle, “GeoMirai”. Utilizing other measures including cross-media advertisement, opinion surveys and press releases allows
us to reach out a wide range of stakeholders in Japan.
1. Introduction

2. Outline of NUMO’s public relations activities

NUMO was established as an implementing bodyof Japanese geological disposal project of high-level
radioactive waste in October 2000 in accordance with
the Specified Radioactive Waste Final Disposal Act.
In Japan, as part of an energy policy, spent fuelfrom nuclear power generation is reused byreprocessing. During this reprocessing process,high-level radioactive waste (HLW) is generated.
NUMO’s mission is to realize safe geologicaldisposal of HLW. About 18,000 tons of spent fuel isstored in nuclear power plants now. If thereprocessing is implemented in full, about 25,000
vitrified wastes will be produced.
Since disposal of the wastes is necessary, NUMO
has carried out communication activities to enhance
the idea that “disposal of HLW is our own issue”.
Thus, it has been exchanging opinions with the public
about the significance and safety of geologicaldisposal. In July 2017, the government published theNationwide map of Scientific Features for Geological
Disposal (the map) which classifies all areas in Japanby scientific features. It provided an opportunity for
NUMO to promote dialogue with the publicthroughout Japan.

Since the establishment in 2000, NUMO has been
engaging in PR activities to raise public awareness ofgeological disposal project through workshops andadvertising on television commercials. In December
2002, open solicitation for literature survey started.
In January 2007, Toyo town in Kochi prefecture
applied as a volunteer area. However, in April of thesame year, it withdrew after the strong opposition
from local residents. NUMO accepted this experience
seriously and learned that many people have concerns
about the safety of geological disposal of HLW.
Under the recognition that confidence building in thepublic is essential, it started to develop moreface-to-face dialogues in small groups.
When the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred,considering the associated nuclear accident at theFukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, NUMO
decided to refrain from public relations on its
geological disposal project for the time being.
NUMO reviewed its PR activities and restarted
conveying information on geological disposal
through good practices in other countries andexchanging opinions with the young generation andteachers.

6th East Asia Forum on Radwaste Management Conference
November 27-29, 2017, Osaka, Japan

In May 2015, the Basic Policy on the Final
Disposal of Specified Radioactive Waste was revised
by Japanese government. With the recognition thatrealization of geological disposal project is thebenefit of whole society, it stipulated that the burden
should not be transferred from the current generation
to the next generation. In accordance with thisrevised policy, NUMO’s various communication
activities have been carried out to meet the needs ofeach generation.

In symposia held for the past few years,
participants had various questions or opinions
including safety measures in geological disposal
facilities and effects of volcanic and fault activities(see Fig. 2). To answer these questions, NUMO
explains the international consensus that geologicaldisposal is more realistic than other disposal methods
because of its lower risk. Furthermore, someparticipants had comments on necessity of public
relations for the young generation and a silent
majority.

3. Technical reliability and public relations
Due to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
Accident, fear and distrust on nuclear energy
increased among the public. At the same time, thesituation surrounding geological disposal got worse.
Fig. 1 shows a fluctuation of the public opinion
about geological disposal before and after theaccident, indicating that the public trust in the experts
and people engaging in nuclear power has decreased.
As the situation called for serious consideration,
NUMO refrained from any activities for the time
being. And trust of geological disposal similarly
decreased.

Fig. 2 Frequent questions and opinions on geologicaldisposal
In Japan, the feasibility of geological disposal wasconfirmed in 1999. R&D has been developed in thefield of geological environment, cost-effective
construction and safety assessment. Nevertheless,there are not enough opportunities to provide
information of technical reliability, and some people
have concerns about it. Taking this into account,
NUMO explains safety and risk through dialogue.
On the other hand, dialogue often positively
changed the participants’ awareness or feelings about
geological disposal. Once participants obtain someknowledge on it, their concerns will decrease. The
details will however follow later, thus, dialogue willlead them to understand technical reliability.
Fig. 1 Results of public opinion survey (2013), Japan
AtomicEnergy
Relations
Organization,
http://www.jaero.or.jp/data/01jigyou/tyousakenkyu25.html, October 16, 2017

4. Nationwide activities
In fiscal 2016, NUMO carried out dialogue ingeological disposal seminars throughout Japan. Prior
to the publication of the map, NUMO came todevelop small group sessions to interact directly withparticipants.

6th East Asia Forum on Radwaste Management Conference
November 27-29, 2017, Osaka, JapanIn dialogue, NUMO made efforts to explain
technical terms (e.g. reversibility and retrievability,half-life radioactive waste) in simple words. Besides
this, in response to the participant’s interest, topics ofsessions cover geological disposal to nuclear fuelcycles. Questions from participants vary widely. For
instance, some are about the difference between
HLW and contaminated waste by radioactive
materials. Other questions are about the Fukushima
Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, Mixed Oxide
Fuel, etc. At events, NUMO staff expresses gratitude
by taking care of each participant through greetingand guiding with courtesy.
Surveys were carried out before and after the eachseminar to see the satisfaction level of participants.
The results revealed that changes in the level ofunderstanding and satisfaction of participants
improved after seminars (see Table 1). Such positive
feedback is thought to be because of NUMO staff’s
attitude to listen to their opinions. Although thoseefforts are not on the questionnaire, NUMO’s honest
and sincere attitude and face-to-face dialogue
contributed to the evaluation (see Table 2).
Both communication and technical staff
have been striving to improve theircommunication skills through study meeting
within the organization and dialogue trainings
by outside experts, believing that honesty andsincerity is the key to the fruitful two-way
communication.

Table 1 The results of surveys in geological disposal
seminars in 2016

Table 2 The results of surveys in geological disposal
seminars in 2016

5. Dialogue through various channels
5.1 Online information dissemination and opinion
exchange
5.1.1 NUMO’s official websiteNUMO operates its website as an important tool todisseminate information widely. Fig. 3 illustrates
increase and decrease of current page views.
According to that, page views increased considerably
in August 2016, which is considered as anachievement of newly set up pages on summer
science assignments for kids.
Furthermore, this March, the contents and layoutof the FAQs were renewed to pursue moreuser-friendly website. Technical information wasrevised to use more simple words in collaboration
with communication and technical staff. As a result,these efforts have increased page views. Further, due
to the publication of the map, page views got twice or
three times as many as ever before.
5.1.2 E-mail magazine
E-mail magazines have been issued twice a monthon average since February 2015. This is aimed to not
only provide information timely, but also have people
feel closer to NUMO. One of the efforts on thecolumn named “NUMO no hito”, employees
alternately introduce hobbies or what they consider
important in their job or even in private life.
These E-mail magazines have been sent to morethan 7,000 addresses in total until September 2017.
Staff encourages participants to register for the e-mailmagazine at the each event by NUMO.

6th East Asia Forum on Radwaste Management Conference
November 27-29, 2017, Osaka, JapanFurthermore, this autumn, NUMO launchedInstagram account, which is expected to raiseawareness among women and the younger generation
for geological disposal.
5.2 Media relations

Fig. 3 Increase and decrease of page views of its
website
5.1.3 Official account on Facebook
NUMO opened its official account to enhancemore understanding of geological disposal, especiallyamong women and the young generation in April
2015. Facebook has enabled more people to learn
about NUMO’s activities easily and share theinformation with other users, even if they never had achance to visit NUMO’s website or participate in anyof symposia. Not only those but also photos of eventsand articles in more simple words enabled people tofeel closer to NUMO. The frequency of update isusually once or twice a week.
Fig. 4 illustrates increase and decrease of “Like”
on Facebook, which have been collected sinceNUMO launched its account. In the beginning, April
2015, the number of “Like” was 172. “Like” andcomments have grown in number. As of the end of
this September, the number of “Like” reached17,639.

As public relations for the media, NUMO has beenworking on responding to inquiries, interviews toboard members; carrying out site visits of theunderground research laboratory of JAEA;
composing and distributing press releases; lectures on
geological disposal for the press, and interviews atsymposia.
However online news and social networking
services are recently getting popular and postings bydata journalists are growing, it is no exaggeration to
say that the media still has a great influence and thepublic trust. In response to this situation, it is very
important to enhance the media’s interest in andpromote coverage of geological disposal so that it
expands understanding among the public.
Newspapers and TV stations have their own
characteristics such as their circulation areas (nationalor local), strong points, and their own creeds for news
coverage as media organizations. But it is not
impossible to understand different stances on
geological disposal or nuclear power by analyses ofarticles and newspapers. For instance, an analysis on
the map confirmed that the each stance on the map issimilar to those on the restart of nuclear power plants.
One of the well-known newspapers in Japan, theAsahi Shimbun is said to be critical of nuclear power
generation. On the other hand, the Yomiuri Shimbun
seems to be affirmative on it.
The map caught the attention of the media. All thenationwide TV stations covered it on the news.
Regarding the number of articles in newspapers,
more than 50 newspapers (national and local)
covered it. Since the local media takes an importantrole to enhance understanding across the country,
NUMO exchanges opinion with and provide
information to editorial writers to increase theirinterests on geological disposal. In order to get a lotof media exposure of NUMO’s nationwide dialogue,
it is effective to provide information to the local
media through distribution of press releases in person
to increase their interests on geological disposal.
At events held by NUMO, reporters strictly obey
the coverage policy set up by the organizer because
participants’ privacy should be thoroughly taken careof. A steady effort will contribute to build publicconfidence.

Fig. 4 Increase and decrease of “Like” on Facebook
since the launch in April 2015

6th East Asia Forum on Radwaste Management Conference
November 27-29, 2017, Osaka, Japan

5.3 Activities for the next generation
Other than the activities referred above, NUMO isdeveloping various activities such as internationalseminars, events using the communication vehicle,
cross-media marketing, etc. Especially, regarding
international seminars, public interests in advanced
cases in other countries such as Finland or Sweden
are high. Themes of the seminars cover various fields
including consensus-building, plans for living
together in regional areas, etc.
Nationwide surveys using internet revealed thatawareness of geological disposal among males ishigher than the one among females. The surveys
mentioned above also proved that there is room for
improvement in raising awareness among the younggeneration. Accordingly, NUMO is proactively
carrying out various activities to adopt geologicaldisposal to education, for example, dispatch ofNUMO staff to lectures for both students and school
teachers or making supplementary teaching materials.
As part of activities for the young generation, inJuly 2017 Tokyo, NUMO collaborated withuniversity students in an advertising competition forstudent groups called “Adfes” to set geologicaldisposal as a theme of this year. 14 advertisingsocieties of Japanese universities competed with eachother with various plans to spread the idea thatgeological disposal of HLW is our own issue among
the public. NUMO supported to offer them with theopportunity to join its symposia, site visits andlectures. The winner’s plan “Geological disposal in
the size of Tenohira” focused on the battery ofsmartphones since it is a familiar energy usage in ourdaily lives. In the plan, mobile batteries are
distributed and collected. Users take messages when
they get it or throw away to the box after using it asbatteries and boxes are set with digital signage. This
competition was covered in 52 online columns and 3
newspapers and NUMO is considering practical useof the winner’s proposal.

geologically assumed preferable areas in terms ofsafe waste transportation “green and coastal area” onthe map, and face to face communication will be truly
essential.
It comes to the conclusion that listening toopinions is greatly important no matter they are
positive or negative about nuclear power generationin order to mitigate their concerns.

6. Conclusion
The purpose of the map publication in July 2017 isto show those geological characteristics across thecountry in terms of volcanos, active faults, mineral
resources, waste transportation, etc. Not only NUMO
but also electric power companies set up customer
services as the producer of waste, and NUMO willcontinue nationwide communication activities inclose collaboration with them.
In NUMO, inquiries from the public are increasing
after the publication of the map, which shows thatawareness of geological disposal is raising gradually.
The map publication doesn’t decide a site withoutmunicipalities’ permission. In the years ahead,dialogues will be ongoing mainly in more

6th East Asia Forum on Radwaste Management Conference
November 27-29, 2017, Osaka, Japan