2023-08-24 06:00:23
The Japanese government has decided to start from Thursday August 24 the discharge into the Pacific Ocean of water accumulated for years on the Fukushima site, devastated by the deadly tsunami of March 11, 2011, which caused the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.
Fukushima’s hard-hit fisheries, tourism and economy are still recovering. Fishermen’s associations fear that the reputation of their products will be further tarnished. Current fish catches in the Fukushima area are only a fifth of their pre-disaster level, due to a shrinking fisher population and shrinking catch sizes themselves.
Wind up against this project, China, which in 2022 was the country of destination for 25% of Japanese exports of seafood products, decided in July to ban the import of all foodstuffs from ten Japanese departments, including that of Fukushima, and to carry out strict controls on foodstuffs imported from the rest of the country.
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northern Japan on August 22, 2023. At the bottom of the image are visible the tanks where the contaminated water is stored. AP Members of the Democratic Party, South Korea’s main opposition party, hold electric candles and signs that read ‘Cancel Fukushima Contaminated Water Dump!’ “, during a rally against Japan’s plan to discharge treated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, on August 23, 2023. JUNG YEON-JE / AFP Demonstrators face to police officers before a rally to demand the reversal of the Japanese government’s decision, in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, August 22, 2023. LEE JIN-MAN / AP During a demonstration against the dumping of sewage from the Japan’s damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant in the Pacific, outside Seoul’s city hall, on August 22, 2023, after Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced the operation would start on August 24. ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP Haruo Ono stands on one of his boats at the fishing port of Trushushihama, in Fukushima prefecture, about 60 kilometers north of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, on August 21, 2023. “Nothing is beneficial for us” in this project, “the fishermen are opposed to it 100%”, affirms to AFP Mr. Ono. While they were just beginning to raise their heads, local fishermen fear seeing their activity relapse because of an image tarnished by this project. PHILIP FONG / AFP Demonstrators take part in a rally against the Japanese government’s plan to discharge Fukushima wastewater into the ocean, in front of the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo, August 18, 2023. PHILIP FONG / AFP Hong Kong fishermen pour water on a photo of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a demonstration in front of the Japanese consulate in Hong Kong, August 22, 2023. PETER PARKS / AFP Members of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions demonstrate in front of the consulate of Japan, in Hong Kong, after the announcement of the date for the discharge of sewage into the ocean on August 22, 2023. The banner reads: “Protest against Japan’s irresponsibility which endangers the planet by releasing radioactive water. PETER PARKS / AFP
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