nuclear-news

Yasuo Yoshida, a 46-year-old fisherman in Iwaki, a coastal city in the prefecture, said politicians should visit the areas affected by the nuclear disaster more often and listen to the local people.

“Now we face a moment of truth in trying to rebuild Fukushima’s fishing industry and I want politicians to ensure that the central government will take responsibility” for the revival of fishing, he said.

Fukushima fishermen have refrained from catching fish except for trial operations since the disaster due to fears of radiation contamination.

Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant, has recently suggested that underground water taken from the site be discharged into the sea, so as to reduce the overall amount of contaminated water at the facility.

But talks between the utility and local fishermen remain bogged down.

“Even if the underground water is clean, discharging it into the sea would ruin our recovery efforts due to the reputation (of the area),” Yoshida said.

He said he does not know whether the regional economy has recovered at all, since he has no work.

Keiko Fujinami, a 42-year-old housewife from Naraha, said she does not expect any change after the upper house election. “Nobody will stick to their election pledges,” she said. Fujinami lives in Iwaki with her family as an evacuee…… “None of the Diet members or central government officials lives here. Those people must be thinking that it’s OK as long as the facility is located far away from Tokyo,” she said. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/130704/fukushima-voters-urge-politicians-face-reality-nuclear