People are on high alert amidst doubts and concerns, from Japan to Jeju Island, Fukushima nuclear contaminated water is about to meet discharge standards | Japan | Fukushima

Japan has recently released a release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant as early as the end of this month. As the discharge deadline approaches, people's doubts, concerns, and anger are also increasing day by day.

Worries are ignored

Since the Japanese government announced plans in 2021 to discharge the treated nuclear contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, culinary chef Takashi Inoue has been anxiously checking the news almost every day to get the latest news. Inoue comes from the coastal city of Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture, which was the hardest hit area by the 2011 March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

In 2016, Inoue resigned from his previous job as a salesperson and switched to making traditional Pancheng cuisine.

Inoue told Nikkei Shimbun that the value of the food he produces lies in Pancheng Manufacturing, which uses local fish such as saury as ingredients.

"But when people see seafood from Fukushima, do they still find it delicious?"

Inoue's concerns are just a microcosm. Nowadays, in Japan and the entire coastal region of Asia, from fishermen to tourism operators, there is anxiety about the upcoming emissions.

In Japan, due to the impact of nuclear contaminated water discharge on marine related industries, many fishermen and small business owners will face difficulties. Especially in rural areas with an aging population, many people believe that their concerns have been ignored.

"I oppose the discharge of nuclear contaminated water. My grandson has agreed to take over my business and I hope he can take over a safe and reliable ocean," said 76 year old fisherman Masahiro Shibata. "No one knows what will happen in the next 30 or 40 years.".

On a beach about 40 kilometers south of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Yukio Suzuki still operates the only remaining beach resort to this day.

The 70 year old man said that if people are unwilling to swim in the sea after discharge, his business will be affected. He also said that the government and TEPCO did not ask for his opinion, did not explain or compensate, and did not respond to concerns.

The Nikkei Shimbun reported that the Japanese government has allocated a total of 80 billion yen to expand sales, purchase seafood, and develop sites to help potentially affected Japanese fisheries. TEPCO also stated that the company has been "using every opportunity to explain to stakeholders".

But these measures have had little effect.

The results of a nationwide telephone public opinion survey conducted by Kyodo News Agency last month showed that 80.3% of the government's explanations regarding the discharge of contaminated water from Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea were deemed "insufficient".

In addition, the support rate for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet has dropped to the lowest level, a decrease of 6.5 percentage points from the previous survey results.

Causing anxiety in the surrounding area

Not only is Japan filled with dissatisfaction, but anger and questioning continue to ferment in the surrounding areas.

In South Korea, although the government of Yoon Seok yeol agrees with emissions, the public strongly opposes it. A joint survey by Korean and Japanese media shows that 84% of Koreans oppose emissions.

The Nikkei Shimbun mentioned that South Korea has experienced panic hoarding of salt due to concerns about nuclear contaminated water discharge, and sea salt prices have risen sharply in the past six months.

Even on Jeju Island, more than 1000 kilometers away from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, there is a pervasive sense of unease and anxiety.

69 year old diver Jin En'e is particularly worried. She will dive into the sea with her team in the morning, spend 5 hours salvaging sea urchins and shellfish, and sell them to local restaurants and buyers. She has been in this industry for 53 years.

Nowadays, she is not only worried that people's negative views on seafood will affect her business, but also worried about her health condition.

"Drinking seawater is our norm. As time goes by, won't this water enter our bodies and have an impact on our health?" she said.

"We request Japan not to discharge nuclear contaminated water," she said, "otherwise we won't be able to survive.".

In China, the head of the Import and Export Food Safety Bureau of the General Administration of Customs of China stated last month that in order to prevent the export of Japanese food contaminated with radiation to China and protect the safety of imported food for Chinese consumers, Chinese customs have banned the import of food from ten counties including Fukushima in Japan.

On August 9th, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated its opposition to Japan's strong plan to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea. China calls on the Japanese government to fully respond to the concerns of the international community, fulfill its moral responsibility and international legal obligations, stop the forced discharge plan, dispose of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water with a genuine and responsible attitude and in a safe and effective manner, and accept strict international supervision to avoid irreparable harm to the global marine ecology and human health.

The Hong Kong region of China has also expressed its position that once Japan releases nuclear wastewater, it will immediately ban the import of aquatic products from 10 counties in Japan.

"In the past two to three months, Hong Kong has strengthened radiation testing on other processed foods imported from Japan," said Yoichi Ito, Secretary General of the Japan Local Chamber of Commerce.

In the Pacific region, the 18 member Pacific Island Forum has requested more dialogue with the Japanese government on emissions.

Credibility questioned

In fact, external concerns not only revolve around the environment, health, industry, etc., but also include strong doubts about the lack of transparency and credibility of Japan's actions.

The Nikkei Shimbun pointed out that although the International Atomic Energy Agency endorses the discharge of nuclear contaminated water, claiming that the filtered and treated nuclear contaminated water meets safety standards, there is widespread skepticism in Japan and abroad about TEPCO's handling of this matter.

One month after the 2011 March 11 disaster, TEPCO urgently discharged nuclear contaminated water into the sea without prior notice to local fishermen in order to free up space for storage. At that time, it attracted a lot of criticism both domestically and internationally.

In 2018, TEPCO admitted that in most of the treated nuclear contaminated water stored at that time, the concentration of radioactive substances other than tritium still exceeded national standards and did not achieve the decontamination effect of a multi nuclide removal system.

Because these shadows have persisted to this day, local people in Fukushima do not trust TEPCO.

"TEPCO has previously concealed negative data about the treated nuclear contaminated water, and I do not believe that the discharge will be safe," said Takayoshi Yanagi, head of the Pancheng Fisheries Cooperation Association.

Previously, Yanai participated in a seminar hosted by the government and TEPCO, but he said, "The negotiations were meaningless and no progress was made because they had no intention of listening to our opinions.".

Professor Daijiro Suzuki of Nagasaki University's Center for Abolition of Nuclear Weapons said that nuclear reactors have been severely damaged in natural disasters, and now nuclear contaminated water is being discharged into the sea. "There is no precedent for this, so there will be many unknowns. Just because TEPCO claims to meet emission and regulatory standards, it cannot guarantee that there will be no problems."

"Ultimately, this is not a matter of scientific stance, but a matter of trust," Suzuki Tajiro added.