Japan Government to Decide Today on Contaminated Water Discharge as Early as the 24th...

The Japanese government will decide on the schedule for the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean at a cabinet meeting on the 22nd.

Fumio Kishida (left), Prime Minister of Japan, is meeting with Masanobu Sakamoto (right), Chairman of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations (Zenyoren), at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo on the 21st, ahead of the ocean discharge of contaminated water (referred to as "treated water" by the Japanese government).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to Kyodo News on the 22nd, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will preside over a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo, attended by relevant ministers including Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and Reconstruction Minister Hiromichi Watanabe, to set the schedule for the contaminated water release.

Earlier, after meeting with Masanobu Sakamoto, chairman of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations (Zenyoren), Prime Minister Kishida told reporters, "Tomorrow (the 22nd), we will hold a meeting of relevant ministers to confirm the status of safety assurance and measures against reputational damage, and decide on a concrete schedule."

Local Japanese media such as Kyodo News and public broadcaster NHK reported that the release of contaminated water could begin as early as the 24th. This marks the start of the release two years and four months after then-Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga officially decided on the ocean discharge in a cabinet meeting in April 2021.

NHK, citing a Japanese government official, reported, "Prime Minister Kishida said that the understanding of fishermen regarding the ocean discharge plan has progressed to some extent, and final adjustments are being made to start the release as soon as possible after the 24th."

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Kyodo News analyzed that the reason for coordinating the schedule to the 24th is because "it is considered desirable to allow a certain period from the start of the release before the resumption of bottom trawl fishing off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture in September."

Even if the Japanese government finalizes the schedule for the contaminated water release, opposition from Japanese fishermen and neighboring countries such as China is expected to continue. At the meeting with Prime Minister Kishida the previous day, Masanobu Sakamoto, former chairman of Zenyoren, emphasized his opposition to the release by stating, "The opposition has not changed at all."

As of the end of June this year, the total amount of contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is 1.34 million tons, and the ocean discharge is expected to continue for about 30 years from the start.

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