It is recognised that expanding nuclear power is an essential component of moving towards Vision Zero, but this requires public acceptance. One of the greatest barriers to this is assuring the safe management of all resultant radioactive wastes. Geological disposal is essential to such management, but most current concepts were developed decades ago and focused on the fundamental feasibility of implementation, rather than optimisation, to improve safety and environmental impacts (especially for construction). In this paper, the fundamentals of geological disposal are re-assessed – with a focus on the particularly challenging boundary conditions in Japan, and, by using knowledge management tools to facilitate lateral thinking, the potential for major performance gains is illustrated.