[Reporter’s Notebook] Fukushima Flatfish Raised in Contaminated Water Debuts on YouTube

"It has been 40 years since I joined the company, but I never imagined I would end up raising flatfish at a nuclear power plant."

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) employee Kazuo Yamanaka (山中和夫) recently lamented in an interview with NHK that his job had shifted to flatfish farming as he approached retirement. Originally, he was a veteran manager responsible for measuring radiation levels within the nuclear power plant.

Flatfish being raised at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant by Tokyo Electric Power Company. On the right is the contaminated water tank treated by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS). Tokyo Electric Power Company is showing the condition of the flatfish through a live broadcast on their YouTube channel. [Image source=Tokyo Electric Power Company YouTube channel]

The flatfish he raises live in water mixed with contaminated water treated by the Fukushima nuclear power plant’s Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) and seawater. The daily lives of these flatfish are broadcast live in real-time on YouTube and can be viewed on TEPCO’s YouTube channel. Recently, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who visited Japan, also visited this site and fed the flatfish, drawing international attention.

TEPCO began raising flatfish to alleviate the concerns of Fukushima fishermen regarding the discharge of contaminated water. The message is that since flatfish raised in the discharged contaminated water are living well and moving normally, there is no need to worry.

To prove the health of the flatfish, TEPCO checks and publicly discloses their condition daily. Numerous radiation experts and veterinarians are mobilized to thoroughly monitor the health of the flatfish every day.

However, despite these efforts, the flatfish YouTube channel has failed to change the minds of local residents. The Japan Fisheries Cooperative Association, which includes 300,000 members including Fukushima fishermen, has issued a statement opposing the discharge. Criticism is also pouring in that this is a waste of budget on pointless activities.

The Japanese government and TEPCO have responded to such criticism by urging people to move beyond what they call "unscientific and exaggerated fears." However, fishermen maintain their stance that it is difficult to trust both TEPCO, which caused an unprecedented nuclear accident and yet faces no punishment while continuing to operate the plant and discharge contaminated water, and the government that approved it.

The discharge of contaminated water is not a one-time event. It must continue for the next 30 years. This is the first-ever marine discharge in history, with no prior examples. Even though the IAEA has verified its safety, no one can predict what problems it might cause to the marine ecosystem and human health over 30 years. In this situation, it is difficult to categorically state that the fear is merely exaggerated.

Claims such as "the flatfish raised in contaminated water are doing well, so don’t worry," or "I drank water from the Noryangjin fish market tank and nothing happened, so rest assured," are criticized as mere brief "showing." The first step should be to empathize with the fears and anxieties of local residents and make efforts to listen to their concerns.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.