The Review Committee of SCJ consists of various experts from wide-ranging academic fields from physical science, engineering, life science, social science, and humanities. The proposal concerning awareness of the limits of scientific and technical abilities was formed through interdisciplinary discussions among the experts. Some readers of the SCJ report seem to have felt uneasiness with this proposal because this proposal apparently cast a scientific doubt on the feasibility of the geological disposal of HLW. To the author’s understanding, this proposal is a rather general statement that there is no perfect scientific evidence to support the safety of HLW disposal for more than 10,000 years.

Having heard the discussions related to this proposal, the author recognized there are many different academic approaches depending on the field of science. For example, natural scientists seek truths in natural phenomena, whereas engineers try to make things and/or systems that are valuable and acceptable for human society. HLW issues are related not only to various fields of science, but also to value systems shared by society. Here again, the author was convinced that we need to reflect more deeply on the relationship between science and society.

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