Japan will study the possibility of siting a deep geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste on the remote island of Minamitorishima, about 1,200 miles southeast of Tokyo.

Masaaki Shibuya, mayor of the village of Ogasawara, reportedly expressed his willingness to allow Japan’s government to proceed with a preliminary survey, called a literature survey, of the island, which is one of several within the Ogasawara Islands.