On the 24th, Japan's contaminated water discharge... 730 billion won distributed to enraged fishermen (Comprehensive)

Japan Decides to Release Contaminated Water on 24th
800 Billion Yen Fund Used Amid Fishermen's Protests
Plan to Secure Fund in Year-End Budget
Fishermen Oppose Over Concerns of Reduced Catch

The Japanese government has decided to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant starting from the 24th. The discharge of contaminated water is expected to provoke opposition from neighboring countries such as China and fishermen within Japan. To appease public sentiment, the Japanese government will inject a fund of 80 billion yen (approximately 733.752 billion KRW) to reduce the damage to fishing activities.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated on the 22nd that the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (referred to as "treated water" by the Japanese government) into the ocean is expected to begin on the 24th, provided there are no weather or other disruptions.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to Kyodo News on the 22nd, the Japanese government held a meeting at the Tokyo residence with officials from various sectors participating and decided to begin discharging contaminated water from the 24th. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated regarding the start of ocean discharge of contaminated water, "If there are no weather or other obstacles, we expect it to be on the 24th."

With this decision, the discharge of contaminated water will begin about 12 years after the Fukushima nuclear accident caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. It is also the first discharge in 2 years and 4 months since then-Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga officially decided on ocean discharge of contaminated water in the cabinet meeting in April 2021.

As the discharge date is set, strong opposition from neighboring countries such as China is expected. China is likely to further strengthen restrictions on imports of Japanese seafood. China has already effectively started import restrictions by conducting comprehensive radiation inspections on Japanese seafood at customs since last month, before the discharge began. According to Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, among last year’s total seafood export value of 387.3 billion yen (approximately 3.56 trillion KRW), China accounted for 22% or 87.1 billion yen (approximately 79 billion KRW), and Hong Kong accounted for 19% or 75.5 billion yen (approximately 69 billion KRW).

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is meeting with Masanobu Sakamoto, chairman of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations (Zenyoren), and other fishing group leaders at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo on the afternoon of the 21st, ahead of the planned ocean discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Domestic dissatisfaction in Japan is also expected to grow. The day before, Prime Minister Kishida met with the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations (Zenyoren) ahead of the ocean discharge. At this meeting, fishermen expressed strong opposition to the discharge. Masanobu Sakamoto, chairman of Zenyoren, emphasized, "Scientific safety and social reassurance are different things, and just because it is scientifically safe does not mean that rumor (reputational) damage disappears," adding, "Our opposition stance has not changed at all."

Kyodo News reported, "Fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture have recovered their catch volume through stages such as trial fishing," and "Fishermen have walked a thorny path so far, but they are anxious that their efforts will be wasted due to the discharge of contaminated water."

On the same day, Prime Minister Kishida said, "I believe that broad understanding and expressions of support from various regions and countries have been made based on the scientific grounds of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and that the accurate understanding of the international community is surely spreading," emphasizing that thorough measures will be taken against fishermen’s reputational (rumor) damage.

The Japanese government plans to implement self-help measures to soothe public sentiment. When the contaminated water discharge plan was made in 2021, a fund of 80 billion yen was established to prepare measures against reputational damage, and the government intends to use it to minimize fishermen’s damage. According to a report by Sankei Shimbun, the Japanese government plans to invest 30 billion yen to provide and promote Japanese seafood to companies and restaurants, and to use 50 billion yen to support fishermen’s fishing activities.

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Ahead of Contaminated Water Discharge
[Image Source=Yonhap News]

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