How far would you go to rescue a town from the devastating effects of depopulation? Suttsu, in Japan’s northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, is like many rural communities in Japan that are reeling from a mix of migration to the cities and a rapidly ageing society. Suttsu has lost 60 per cent of its population since the 1970s and now faces a cash crunch as mounting debts tax the town’s finances. The mayor’s solution? Putting Suttsu forward to potentially host a facility that would store all of Japan’s nuclear waste. The controversial plan could bring in billions of yen each year in subsidies. But some residents ask if the cure is worse than the disease?