TBSの報道前の現地記事からの抜粋と翻訳です。 The CNMI government has for years wanted to earn revenue from pozzolan deposits on Pagan, but the costly logistics, especially the shipment of material, has been restricting this type of endeavor. A Japanese firm is looking at leasing land on Pagan to dispose of tons of debris from last year’s tsunami. Isamu Tokuichi, chairman of the board of Kansai Oil Co. and president of New Energy Corp., is leading a group of Japanese investors in planning to mine pozzolan. To offset the shipping costs, they plan to bring in pretreated and mostly recyclable tsunami debris from Japan to Pagan, and then load the same ship with pozzolan from Pagan to Japan. THREE visiting Japanese investors are headed to the volcanic island of Pagan today to determine its potential as a dumping ground for tsunami debris. A Japanese TV journalist and officials of Kansai Oil Company arrived on Saipan and met with Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos and Rep. Froilan C. Tenorio yesterday. The visitors are Kansai Oil Company president Shoichi Higashinaka; his associate, Oku Shigeharu; and Tokyo Broadcasting System Television Inc.’s Yusuke Nakano. The Japanese businessman said that over the last few months, he has been talking with Akita-Iwate Prefecture municipal officials regarding the disposal of the debris.
Oku Shigeharu, chairman of Japan Southwest Islands Security Institute and one of those who visited Pagan on Friday, said the tsunami debris that they plan to bring to Pagan will be pretreated and certified as such by the Japanese government, non-toxic, and non-radioactive. He said the Japanese government pays for the off-site disposal of tsunami debris. He said they are very much aware of Japanese and international laws that prohibit the shipment of highly toxic materials from one country to another. He said at least 80 percent of the tsunami debris from Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures will be recycled on Pagan and brought back to Japan and other destinations.