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Protest continues against Japan’s further discharge of nuke-contaminated water

By Jiang Xueqing in Tokyo  https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202405/26/WS66531eb9a31082fc043c9296.html
2024-05-26

Japanese people continued to strongly oppose the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean during the latest round of radioactive water release.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the Fukushima plant, started the sixth round of releasing nuclear-contaminated water into the sea on May 17. The company said it plans to discharge approximately 7,800 metric tons of radioactive water through June 4.

During a rally in front of the Prime Minister of Japan’s office in Tokyo on Friday, Kem Komdo, a 61-year-old Tokyo resident, said the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean has no benefits at all, and the main risk is marine pollution.

Although Japanese media is promoting that the water treated through the Advanced Liquid Processing System, or ALPS, only contains tritium, Komdo said that is not true. He emphasized that the radioactive water contains various hidden contaminants that have come into contact with fuel debris, so the actual situation must be made clear.

“The (Japanese) government and TEPCO always tell the media to call it ‘ALPS-treated water’, not nuclear-contaminated water, saying that calling it nuclear-contaminated water causes harmful rumors. But that statement is clearly wrong because this is indeed contaminated water,” Komdo said. “By forcing us to call it ‘ALPS-treated water,’ TEPCO and the government are trying to evade responsibility for the Fukushima nuclear accident.”

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered a triple meltdown following a major earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11, 2011.

Komdo said the Japanese government should change its policy to avoid discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean and immediately switch to land storage as there is still space available.

“Otherwise, the government won’t gain the trust of China and other Pacific island countries, and it will also affect other diplomatic relations,” he said.

May 30, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, opposition to nuclear