Wastewater release from Fukushima nuclear plant enters third year.
By Ian Stark, Aug. 25 (UPI) —
The Japanese utility that keeps the nuclear fuel inside the damaged Fukushima plant cool reports its release of treated wastewater has entered its third year.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company announced Monday that it has completed its third discharge of Advanced Liquid Processing System treated water into the sea on Monday…………………
According to TEPCO, the ALPS is designed to remove 62 types of radioactive materials from the affected sea and dilute the water to lower the tritium levels. The water is considered “treated” to distinguish it from water yet to be decontaminated…………………………..
Around 70 tons of radioactive wastewater is produced daily at the plant, which cools the nuclear fuel that melted inside the reactor buildings at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. As of the first week of August, around 102,000 tons of treated water have been released. https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/08/25/Japan-Fukushima-nuclear-wastewater-TEPCO-radioactive/9871756140747/
Fukushima nuclear plant decommissioning seen overrunning estimate
Fukushima nuclear plant decommissioning seen overrunning estimate. $35bn
already committed, with debris removal price ‘difficult’ to guess. The
amount spent or budgeted so far to decommission the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power plant has reached 5.2 trillion yen ($35.4 billion), it was
learned Friday, making it highly likely that the grand total will exceed
the government’s estimate of 8 trillion yen.
Nikkei Asian Review 22nd Aug 2025, https://asia.nikkei.com/business/energy/fukushima-nuclear-plant-decommissioning-seen-overrunning-estimate
Tepco wraps up latest round of treated water release in Fukushima
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said Sunday that it has completed
the second round of its fiscal 2025 release of treated water into the ocean
from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The discharge of the water, containing radioactive tritium, was suspended due to a tsunami caused by a major earthquake near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula last week, but there
were no problems with the facilities involved in the operation. In the
second round, which began on July 14, Tepco diluted 7,800 tons of treated
water with large amounts of seawater before releasing it about 1 kilometer
off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture through an undersea tunnel. In the
current fiscal year through next March, a total of 54,600 tons will be
released into the sea in seven rounds, at the same pace as the previous
year.
Japan Times 3rd Aug 2025, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/03/japan/tepco-2nd-round-treated-water-release/
Tepco ordered to pay ¥100 million in damages over 2011 disaster
Japan Times 30th July 2025
The Tokyo District Court ordered Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings on Wednesday to pay about ¥100 million ($675,000) in damages over the 2011 accident at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Presiding Judge Masahiko Abe ordered the payment mainly as compensation for damage to property and consolation money for life during evacuation while dismissing the claim against the state.
In the lawsuit, Katsutaka Idogawa, 79, former mayor of Futaba, a town in Fukushima Prefecture, blamed the central government and Tepco for their inadequate handling of the accident, arguing that it led to his exposure to radiation…………………………. (Subscribers only) https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/30/japan/crime-legal/tepco-ordered-to-pay-damages-nuclear-disaster/
Debris removal at Fukushima nuclear plant pushed back to 2037 or later
30 July 25, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/30/japan/fukushima-nuclear-plant-debris-removal/
Full-scale removal of nuclear fuel debris from the No. 3 reactor of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will not start before fiscal 2037, officials said Tuesday.
The removal was previously planned to begin in the early 2030s. This delay may push the completion of the plant’s decommissioning process beyond the target year of 2051 set by the government and Tepco.
The new timeline for the work was announced by Tepco and Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation, or NDF, at separate news conferences. They determined that preparations for the work, such as the demolition of an adjacent building, will take about 12 years to 15 years.
“We aren’t in a situation where we should deny (the feasibility of) the decommissioning target,” said Akira Ono, head of Tepco’s in-house company in charge of the decommissioning work. “We remain committed to the goal of completing (the decommissioning process by 2051.)”
A total of 880 metric tons of debris, or a mixture of melted nuclear fuel and reactor structures, is believed to be in the No. 1 to No. 3 reactors at the nuclear plant, which suffered a triple meltdown following the March 2011 massive earthquake and tsunami.
Tepco began to extract debris from the No. 2 reactor on a trial basis last year, and has collected a total of about 0.9 gram so far.
According to Tepco and the facilitation organization, debris removal will be carried out using a combination of what is known as the nonsubmerged method, in which the debris is collected from the air, and what is called the filling and solidification method, which involves pouring a filling agent into the reactor and solidifying it.
A small hole will be opened in the upper part of the reactor building to insert a device that will crush the debris into fine pieces, while a filling agent will be injected as needed. The debris will be collected using a device inserted from the side of the building.
Tepco and the organization said demolishing a waste treatment building on the north side of the No. 3 reactor is necessary to ensure work safety and create space for new equipment. They also said that necessary facilities need to be built in the upper part of the reactor building, and such preparations are expected to take about 12 years to 15 years.
Govt Eyes Reuse of Fukushima Soil at PM’s Office
Tokyo, May 23 (Jiji Press) https://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2025052300665
–The Japanese government is considering reusing soil removed from the ground during radiation decontamination work after the 2011 nuclear reactor meltdowns in Fukushima Prefecture in the grounds of the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, informed sources have said.
The government hopes to promote public understanding over the reuse of the soil from the decontamination work in the northeastern Japan prefecture, home to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The move came after planned pilot projects for using the soil in Tokyo and its northern neighbor, Saitama Prefecture, have stalled due to opposition from local residents.
The government plans to compile a basic policy on the recycling and final disposal of the soil shortly, including its use at the prime minister’s office. It also plans to draw up a specific road map by around this summer.
Some 14 million cubic meters of the soil from the decontamination work is currently stored at interim facilities in the Fukushima towns of Okuma and Futaba, where the TEPCO plant is located.
Robotic arm struggles to take fuel sample from Fukushima plant
By KEITARO FUKUCHI/ Staff Writer, April 28, 2025, https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15704793
A narrow, attic-like space lies directly below the No. 5 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, showing the difficult route a robotic arm must take to collect samples of melted fuel debris in a sister reactor.
The robotic arm is 22 meters long, weighs 4.6 tons and has 18 articulatable joints.
It has been developed to retrieve samples from the No. 2 reactor of Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 plant—which was crippled when the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear disaster at the facility.
To this day, an estimated 880 tons of melted fuel debris remain in the No. 1 through No. 3 reactors, and recovering this material is considered the most challenging phase in the long decommissioning process.
After more than six years of development using taxpayer money and undergoing numerous setbacks, the robotic arm may go on its first real debris retrieval mission later this fiscal year—or face being scrapped.
“The latest attempt may prove a failure since numerous trials have produced no successful outcomes so far,” said a nuclear industry insider. “The robot arm might be left to gather dust without ever being used.”
News reporters were given a tour in January of the crippled power plant’s No. 5 reactor, which is the same model and reportedly has the same dimensions as the No. 2 reactor, to see the route the arm must take if it is to succeed.
THE MISSION
To reach the debris, the arm will have to be navigated—by remote control—through the same narrow route at the No. 2 reactor that the reporters traversed at its twin.
The first step will be to carefully insert the arm, which is 40 centimeters tall, through an opening with an inner diameter of just 55 cm.
Once inside the 1.5-meter-tall space directly under the reactor, the approximately 4-meter-long tip of the arm will be slowly rotated and lowered to reach the fuel debris at the bottom of the containment vessel.
“Adjusting the joints’ angles is particularly difficult,” said a TEPCO public relations representative. “Even a single error can cause the device to hit its surroundings.”
TRIAL AND ERROR
The robotic arm has been under development since fall 2018 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and a British company from the nuclear power industry. As much as 7.8 billion yen ($53.1 million) in taxpayers’ money has been invested in the arm and related projects.
However, the project has faced numerous setbacks.
The government and TEPCO initially planned to debut the arm in a debris retrieval test in 2021, but the device was unable to move with the necessary precision, causing delays.
When the first retrieval test was finally undertaken in November 2024, a simpler device with a solid track record in past applications was used instead. The same device was used in the second retrieval test earlier this month—while revisions on the robotic arm continued.
Because the arm’s weight is supported at its base, the device tends to bend and move unsteadily when extended.
“They are working hard to carry out this difficult procedure under particularly challenging conditions,” said Hajimu Yamana, president of the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corp. (NDF), which serves as an adviser on the decommissioning work.
As the arm’s development dragged on for more than half a decade, new problems arose in and after August 2024.
Disconnection of motor cables that had deteriorated over time was detected, as was a failure in the arm’s obstacle removal mechanism.
In December that year, the robotic arm came into contact with a model of the containment vessel during a test. However, it later safely passed through the opening without encountering any obstructions after its operators fine-tuned the insertion point.
“New issues arise each time a test is conducted,” lamented Yusuke Nakagawa, a TEPCO group manager involved in the project. “We just have to address them one by one again and again.”
TEPCO began dismantling part of the robotic arm in February to examine the deteriorated cable. The inspection is expected to take three to four months, and the arm will likely undergo additional operational tests after that.
THE FUTURE
For now, TEPCO plans to put the robotic arm to practical use at the site in the latter half of fiscal 2025.
“The final decision (on whether to actually use the arm on site) will be made after taking into account the results of the envisioned operational tests,” said Akira Ono, president of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Decontamination and Decommissioning Engineering Co.
The future of the robotic arm is still unclear given that its official introduction has already been delayed four times.
Officials involved are expressing a growing sense of alarm.
Toyoshi Fuketa, an ex-chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, calls for reviewing the current plan.
“Never changing a plan once it has been decided upon, even if it does not work properly, is a bad habit of Japan,” he noted. “People should have the courage to back down at times (by giving up on the robotic arm).”
Robot starts 2nd mission to retrieve debris at Fukushima nuclear plant
Apr. 16 , By Mari Yamaguchi, TOKYO, https://japantoday.com/category/national/robot-starts-2nd-mission-to-retrieve-debris-at-fukushima-nuclear-plant
A remote-controlled robot on Tuesday embarked on its second mission to retrieve tiny bits of melted fuel debris from inside a damaged reactor at the Fukushima nuclear plant that was wrecked by a tsunami 14 years ago.
The mission, which follows the first such debris retrieval in November, is aimed at eventually developing the technology and robots needed for a larger scale cleanup of the plant, destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
The extendable “Telesco” robot carries cameras and a tong to grip tiny nuggets of radioactive debris. It entered the No. 2 reactor’s primary containment vessel Tuesday, according to Tokyo Electric Power Company.
This time, the company aims to send the robot further into the containment vessel to get a sample from an area closer to the center where more melted fuel is believed to have fallen.
It is expected to take several days before the front tip of the robot reaches the targeted area, where it will lower a device carrying a tong and camera in a fishing-rod style.
That first sample retrieval in November, despite a number of mishaps, was a crucial step in what will be a daunting, decades-long decommissioning that must deal with at least 880 tons of melted nuclear fuel that has mixed with broken parts of internal structures and other debris inside the three reactors ruined in 2011.
After a series of small missions by robots to gather samples, experts will determine a larger-scale method for removing melted fuel, first at the No. 3 reactor, beginning in the 2030s.
Experts say the huge challenge of decommissioning the plant is just beginning, and that the work could take more than a century.
China calls for strict, long-term international supervision over Fukushima wastewater discharge: spokesman
2025-03-26, https://www.bastillepost.com/global/article/4690031-china-calls-for-strict-long-term-international-supervision-over-fukushima-wastewater-discharge-spokesman?fbclid=IwY2xjawJSuCVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRXbhJz-aEa94Wd_9BghnsxtDEzzaxDZiiCBsWn9LWkvzinWWdeZIhe3Zg_aem_9apdp3Teicc2HwmyoEjwCw
Guo made the statement at a press conference in Beijing in response to a media query about Japan’s wastewater discharge.
China calls for strict and long-term international supervision over Japan’s discharge of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Wednesday.
“I would like to emphasize that China opposes Japan’s unilateral discharge of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the ocean, and this position remains unchanged. Since last year, Chinese experts have visited Japan twice to independently collect samples and announced the relevant test results in a timely manner. On the basis that Japan has fulfilled its commitments and the test results haven’t shown any abnormalities, the General Administration of Customs of China held in Beijing on March 12 technical exchanges with Japan over the safety of Japanese aquatic products,” Guo said.
“China will continue to work with the rest of the international community to urge Japan to earnestly fulfill its commitments and ensure that the discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea is always under strict international supervision,” said the spokesman.
Hit by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and an ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered core meltdowns in three reactors that released radiation, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.
The plant then generated a massive amount of wastewater tainted with radioactive substances from cooling down the nuclear fuel in the reactor buildings.
Disregarding domestic and foreign questioning and protests, the Japanese government decided in April 2021 to “filter and dilute” the nuclear contaminated wastewater from the plant and started the ocean discharge of the radioactive wastewater on August 24, 2023. This process is expected to last 20 to 30 years, until the nuclear power plant is scrapped.
Subsidies attract companies, but not workers, to Fukushima zones
By SUSUMU OKAMOTO/ Staff Writer, Asahi Shimbun March 18, 2025
Billions of yen in government subsidies have attracted businesses and fueled a surge in industrial park development across areas affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
But one big problem remains: Most workers are not returning to these municipalities that were depleted through evacuation orders.
………………………………………………………………………………….Industrial parks developed by local governments are almost entirely funded by the central government.
So far, 21 parks have opened in the region since the disaster, with nine more planned.
The total cost has exceeded 100 billion yen.
While the construction boom has given the impression of an economic revival, actual progress has fallen short of government and local expectations.
WORKERS NOT RETURNING
………………………………….Interviews with local governments and companies show that 89 businesses and organizations employ around 2,500 people in newly developed industrial parks.
Around 1,050 work in six towns and villages with high radiation levels and restricted access―Tomioka, Okuma, Futaba, Namie, Katsurao and Iitate.
But only about 15 percent of them live within those municipalities. Most of the workers commute from Iwaki and other nearby cities.
DEBATE OVER CONTINUING SUBSIDIES
In November, municipalities affected by the nuclear disaster strongly opposed a government review that suggested a possible end to the industry ministry’s subsidy program around 10 years after the lifting of all evacuation orders.
Experts on the review panel argued that the economic impact of the subsidies remains unclear.
But Kawauchi Mayor Yuko Endo, whose entire village was evacuated, warned, “The town won’t survive if the subsidies are cut off.”
Over the eight years through fiscal 2023, the ministry’s program has distributed 95.9 billion yen to 135 companies and organizations.
“Without jobs, people won’t return to nuclear disaster-affected areas,” a ministry official said. “Without people, neither commercial nor medical facilities can come back.”
The government has allocated an additional 11 billion yen for the program in fiscal 2025.
LONG ROAD TO SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
“Young people in Fukushima Prefecture were already leaving for cities before the disaster,” said Toshiyuki Kanai, a professor at the University of Tokyo’s of Faculty of Law. “Creating jobs alone won’t bring people back.”
However, he added: “The government has little choice but to continue support, given its responsibility for the displacement caused by the nuclear disaster. The scale of the damage is irreparable.”………………… https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15656086?fbclid=IwY2xjawJG4llleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHflEUQCKoAUe6O8fzoy952K_909rjqNLcrSehKzuCAKI-j0j72skaYMOlQ_aem_Qo9irxiJmty4KnXYMVu3aA
Governor urges contaminated soil be disposed of outside Fukushima by 2045
Soil from radiation decontamination work after the 2011 nuclear reactor
meltdowns in Fukushima Prefecture should be disposed of outside the
prefecture by the deadline set by law, Fukushima Gov. Masao Uchibori said
in a recent interview. A law stipulates that all such soil must be disposed
of outside Fukushima by March 2045.
“The final disposal must be completed
within 20 years, no matter whether the soil is reused (within Fukushima) or
not,” the governor said. However, Shiro Izawa, the mayor of Futaba — one
of the towns hosting Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ crippled
Fukushima No. 1 plant — said lasts month that soil from radiation
decontamination work should be reused in Fukushima. The mayor said this was
his personal opinion. Uchibori pointed out the heavy burden placed on
Futaba and the neighboring town of Okuma for accepting interim storage
facilities for soil from decontamination work.
Japan Times 11th March 2025. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03/11/japan/fukushima-gov-soil-disposal/
‘Nervous and rushed’: Massive Fukushima plant cleanup work involves high radiation and stress
Experts say the hard work and huge challenges of decommissioning the plant are just beginning. There are estimations that the work could take more than a century. The government and TEPCO have an initial completion target of 2051, but the retrieval of melted fuel debris is already three years behind, and many big issues remain undecided.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS, 12 March 2025
OKUMA, Japan (AP) – The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s radiation levels have significantly dropped since the cataclysmic meltdown in Japan 14 years ago. Workers walk around in many areas wearing only surgical masks and regular clothes.
It’s a different story for those who enter the reactor buildings, including the three damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. They must use maximum protection – full facemasks with filters, multi-layered gloves and socks, shoe covers, hooded hazmat coveralls and a waterproof jacket, and a helmet.
As workers remove melted fuel debris from the reactors in a monumental nuclear cleanup effort that could take more than a century, they are facing both huge amounts of psychological stress and dangerous levels of radiation.
The Associated Press, which recently visited the plant for a tour and interviews, takes a closer look.
A remote-controlled extendable robot with a tong had several mishaps including equipment failures before returning in November with a tiny piece of melted fuel from inside the damaged No. 2 reactor.
That first successful test run is a crucial step in what will be a daunting, decades-long decommissioning that must deal with at least 880 tons of melted nuclear fuel that has mixed with broken parts of internal structures and other debris inside the three ruined reactors…………………………………………………
Radiation levels are still dangerously high inside the No. 2 reactor building, where the melted fuel debris is behind a thick concrete containment wall. Earlier decontamination work reduced those radiation levels to a fraction of what they used to be.
In late August, small groups took turns doing their work helping the robot in 15- to 30-minute shifts to minimize radiation exposure. They have a remotely controlled robot, but it has to be manually pushed in and out.
“Working under high levels of radiation (during a short) time limit made us feel nervous and rushed,” said Yasunobu Yokokawa, a team leader for the mission. “It was a difficult assignment.”
Full-face masks reduced visibility and made breathing difficult, an extra waterproof jacket made it sweaty and hard to move, and triple-layered gloves made their fingers clumsy, Yokokawa said.
To eliminate unnecessary exposure, they taped around gloves and socks and carried a personal dosimeter to measure radiation. Workers also rehearsed the tasks they’d perform to minimize exposure…………………………………………………..
a growing number of workers are concerned about safety and radiation at the plant, said Ono, the decommissioning chief, citing an annual survey of about 5,5,00 workers……
Yokokawa and a plant colleague, Hiroshi Ide, helped in the 2011 emergency and are team leaders today. They say they want to make the job safer as workers face high radiation in parts of the plant.
On the top floor of the No. 2 reactor, workers are setting up equipment to remove spent fuel units from the cooling pool. That’s set to begin within two to three years.
At the No. 1 reactor, workers are putting up a giant roof to contain radioactive dust from decontamination work on the top floor ahead of the removal of spent fuel.
To minimize exposure and increase efficiency, workers use a remote-controlled crane to attach pre-assembled parts, according to TEPCO. The No. 1 reactor and its surroundings are among the most contaminated parts of the plant.
Workers are also removing treated radioactive wastewater. They recently started dismantling the emptied water tanks to make room to build facilities needed for the research and storage of melted fuel debris.
After a series of small missions by robots to gather samples, experts will determine a larger-scale method for removing melted fuel, first at the No. 3 reactor.
Experts say the hard work and huge challenges of decommissioning the plant are just beginning. There are estimations that the work could take more than a century. The government and TEPCO have an initial completion target of 2051, but the retrieval of melted fuel debris is already three years behind, and many big issues remain undecided.
Ide, whose home in Namie town, northwest of the plant, is in a no-go zone because of nuclear contamination, still has to put on a hazmat suit, even for brief visits home…….
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-14484347/Nervous-rushed-Massive-Fukushima-plant-cleanup-exposes-workers-high-radiation-stress.html
14 years since Fukushima nuclear disaster: Greenpeace statement
Greenpeace International, 11 March 2025
Tokyo, Japan – 14 years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster devastated the northeast region of Japan. Greenpeace Japan extends heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families who are still suffering the aftermath of this devastating catastrophe……………………………
The risks of nuclear power plants increase with the length of time they have been in operation, as does their vulnerability to natural disasters such as earthquakes. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident occurred at a nuclear power plant that had been in operation for more than 30 years, and radiation levels remain so high that even 14 years after the accident, it is still impossible for humans to directly inspect the damaged reactors. Therefore, the change of policy to promote nuclear power is unacceptable.[1]
There is no prospect for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel while the existing storage facilities are already close to full capacity, and many local authorities have yet to put in place an effective method for the safe evacuation of residents living near nuclear power stations in the event of an unforeseen emergency.
In addition, the Japanese Government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), pushing aside the concerns of fishermen, residents and others, have decided to start deliberately discharging contaminated water containing radioactive substances from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the environment. This discharge is expected to continue for about 30 years until 2051.
14 years ago, the then Government considered the possibility of evacuating 50 million people in the Tokyo metropolitan area. In fact, water treatment plants in Tokyo even introduced temporary restrictions on the amount of water that infants should drink. Due to the direction of the wind, much of the released radioactive material was carried out to sea, but a different wind direction would have resulted in a completely different outcome. The Prime Minister secretly drafted a statement at that time which stated that the worst case scenario had occurred. Have we, who experienced the accident, stayed true to the feelings we had in our hearts at the time?
The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake 30 years ago, the Great East Japan Earthquake 14 years ago, the Noto Peninsula Earthquake a year ago and other earthquakes and floods across the country have occurred in rapid succession. We can only prepare for these natural disasters as best we can, but nuclear disasters are different. Nuclear disasters are caused by our choice and use of nuclear power as a means of generating electricity in Japan. Fortunately, there are many possibilities in Japan to pursue comfortable energy savings, as the electricity supply can be replaced by renewable energies that use neither nuclear power nor fossil fuels.
Therefore, Greenpeace Japan, whose vision is to preserve the bounty of the earth for our children 100 years from now, believes that the only reasonable course to take is to stop nuclear power generation in order to prevent nuclear disasters from happening again. The government should clearly state its policy to phase out the use of nuclear power and fossil fuels, in order to ensure a stable energy supply and decarbonise the country. They should make great strides in energy conservation in a way that promotes health, comfort and efficiency, and the use of renewable energy in a way that is in harmony with local communities and nature, thereby aiming to make Japan an energy-saving and renewable energy powerhouse. We will do our utmost this year to work towards this goal.” https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/73383/14-years-since-fukushima-nuclear-disaster-greenpeace-statement/
“Difficult-to-Return” zones
Some have returned to areas contaminated by the Fukushima disaster but they should never be considered safe, writes Ruiko Muto
https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2025/03/09/difficult-to-return-zones/ 9 Mar 25
Last summer, I had the opportunity to visit parts of the Difficult-to-Return zones in Fukushima. A hospital, where more than 50 patients died during evacuation efforts in the 2011 nuclear disaster, was now overgrown with dense trees and grasses. In a care home for older people, I saw disarrayed beds and scattered items, such as diapers, medicines and documents, all left untouched since the residents had to evacuate suddenly for safety. The meal plan for 11th March 2011 was still written on the whiteboard.
At a nearby primary school, I found dictionaries placed on each small wooden desk. Pupils’ bags, shoes, brush washers, and even fallen bicycles as well as helmets were still there – everything was left behind. No sounds were to be heard except for the hum of cicadas. There is no doubt that people lived here until just 13 years ago, but now, there is no one. These places remain abandoned even today.
Only a very small number of people have returned to the areas where evacuation orders were lifted. Empty houses need to be demolished one by one. Grand gates and storehouses, seemingly with centuries of history, are being torn down. New homes have been built nearby for disaster-affected families, with some residents with children moving in from outside Fukushima. A resident told me that the current indoor radiation level was as high as 0.3μSv/h, five to ten times higher than the levels before 2011. Part of the Difficult-to-Return zone begins just behind the fences surrounding these homes. Such living conditions should never be called safe.
Meanwhile, the Japanese government has removed its pledge to reduce reliance on nuclear energy from its Seventh Strategic Energy Plan, signalling their intention to revive the industry. To someone like me, who is acutely aware of the ongoing sufferings from the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the reality that local residents cannot safely stay or evacuate if a similar disaster were triggered by an earthquake in areas like the Noto Peninsula, the epicentre of a major earthquake in 2024, Japan’s continued reliance on nuclear energy seems inconceivably absurd.
In 2022, Japan’s Supreme Court ruled that the government was not liable for the 2011 disaster, dismissing the claims of many evacuees and victims seeking fair compensation and accountability. Since then, it has been revealed by a journalist that there was a collusion between the judge and the executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). The state of the judicial system in Japan is deeply concerning. Similar rulings in other Fukushima nuclear disaster related cases followed in lower courts, leaving those suffering in an incredibly difficult position.
The extraction of 0.7 gramme of nuclear debris from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been recently reported, but the modest “success” was achieved only after repeated failed attempts. Harsh working conditions with high levels of radiation exposure and mismanagement by TEPCO — such as failing to send a company staff member to properly inspect a telescopic device — became evident during the process. No review of the plant’s decommissioning roadmap has been carried out to account for the radioactive decay period, even though no one believes the decommissioning process will be completed by 2051, as originally planned.
Having released contaminated underground water from the plant into the ocean despite strong opposition, Japan is now distributing contaminated soil to wider areas, touting it as a “recycled” material for rebuilding works. In doing so, the Japanese government continues to propagate nuclear safety myths, particularly among younger people, while asserting that they alone have the authority to determine which evidence is scientific and which is not.
Along the quiet Fukushima coastline, almost empty of people, lavish corporate facilities and state-of-the art laboratories have been built with generous subsidiaries under the guise of reconstruction efforts.
A nuclear disaster not only devastates your life and home, but it also deprives you of basic human rights. Confronted with this harsh reality even 14 years after the disaster, I cannot help but feel a sense of despair about the future of Fukushima.
With winter nearly gone and spring just around the corner, I long to be filled with good intentions and to see the world with discerning eyes. Encouraged by the knowledge that many friends around the world are tirelessly working to end nuclear energy production, I will continue to contribute as much as possible to this important cause.
Update: Last week the Japanese Supreme Court upheld the acquittals made by a lower court of two of the three TEPCO ex-executives charged. The charges against ex-chairman Katsumata Tsunehisa were dropped following his death in October last year. Lawyers from the criminal trial support group and Ruiko Muto, the plaintiff’s representative, held a press conference. The following are excerpts from Ms. Muto’s statement, translated from the original Japanese:
“Although the defendants were all acquitted by the District Court and the High Court, we put our hope in the dignity of judges and in the justice of the Supreme Court.
“The fact that this decision was made today just before March 11 shows the heartlessness with which the victims of the nuclear accident were truly treated. I wonder how many victims are disappointed and angry.
“The Fukushima nuclear accident is still ongoing. How much damage has been caused by this accident, how many lives have been ruined, how much negative legacy has been inflicted on future generations! Failure to hold accountable the management of the companies responsible for the accident could lead to another nuclear accident. It is very regrettable and disappointing that the court did not understand all this. We cannot challenge this decision in court, but we are not convinced of its validity. I believe that the responsibility for this accident will be challenged in many ways in the future, and we are determined to continue working towards that goal.”
Ruiko Muto is a Fukushima native and a longtime opponent of nuclear power who has spent more than 30 years in the anti-nuclear movement. Ms. Muto is also co-representative of the Nuclear Accident Victims Group Liaison Committee and the Chair of the Complainants for the Criminal Prosecution of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster. Translation from the Japanese by Japanese Against Nuclear (UK).
Fukushima victims angered, saddened by TEPCO acquittals.
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN, March 7, 2025, by Susumu Okamoto, Noriyoshi Otsuki, Yuto Yoneda and Takashi Endo. https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15659097?fbclid=IwY2xjawI5r7VleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHWN3s0dp9P01VgNx6-uHR7J7t09vvNY9N_2gIceMP_VQvQV1fbE1ExO8Qw_aem_q068mi2UQmCXSqQO2wrDJQ
Victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster expressed outrage and sadness after the Supreme Court upheld the acquittals of two former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the stricken nuclear plant.
But for Yoshinobu Ishii, the March 5 decision came as no surprise.
“I expected this because the rulings of the first and second trials were ‘not guilty,’” said Ishii, 80, from Kawauchi, Fukushima Prefecture.
Ishii’s mother, Ei, died at the age of 91 after being forced to flee from the nuclear accident in March 2011.
“My mother is not coming back, even if I blame someone (for her death),” said Ishii, resigned.
The two former vice presidents at TEPCO were charged with professional negligence resulting in death and injury concerning the company’s preparations for a tsunami that could hit its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
However, the top court agreed with earlier rulings that said a tsunami of that scale could not have been foreseen and absolved them of criminal responsibility.
Ishii said he was concerned the ruling could further promote Japan’s return to using nuclear power generation for its energy needs.
EVACUATION PLAN ‘USELESS’
On the morning of March 11, 2011, Ishii’s wife, Aiko, 75, visited Ei at an affiliated facility near Futaba Hospital in Okuma, near the nuclear plant.
Ei, who had hurt her back, ate the grated apple and pickled radish that Aiko had brought, and then said her last words to her daughter-in-law: “Be careful on your way home. Come again tomorrow.”
The Great East Japan Earthquake struck that afternoon, unleashing a tsunami that caused the triple meltdown at the nuclear plant.
In the ensuing chaos, patients left behind in hospitals and related facilities were forced to take buses and other means on a harsh evacuation route exceeding 200 kilometers.
A week after the tsunami, the Ishii couple found Ei’s body wrapped in a white cloth in a high school gymnasium. Her death certificate read: “Cause of death: hypothermia” and “Date of death: around March 14.”
The former TEPCO executives were cleared of negligence charges concerning the deaths of 44 people, including hospital patients like Ei who died in evacuation.
Immediately after the nuclear accident, there was a growing movement to move away from nuclear power generation.
Now, however, nuclear reactors are increasingly being restarted around the nation.
“Japan is a country where many earthquakes occur, so ‘100 percent safety’ is impossible,” Ishii said. “That’s why the nuclear accident happened and why the evacuation plan was useless.”
FEELING HELPLESS
A group of victims in Fukushima Prefecture initiated the criminal procedures against the former TEPCO executives.
The group’s leader, Ruiko Muto, 71, ran a coffee shop in Tamura, Fukushima Prefecture, about 40 kilometers west of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
She had no choice but to close the shop after the accident.
“I wanted to make it clear through a criminal trial who should take responsibility to prevent a repeat of the same mistakes,” she said.
She had sat in the galleries of court rooms since the first hearing of the trial at the Tokyo District Court in 2017.
When she learned on March 6 that the Supreme Court had effectively finalized the not guilty verdicts, she felt frustrated and shed tears.
She fears the acquittals will intensify a sense of helplessness among those affected in Fukushima Prefecture.
“Victims of damage caused by the nuclear accident tend not to speak out,” Muto said.
FOCUS NOW ON CIVIL CASE
Yuichi Kaido, a lawyer representing plaintiffs in both the criminal case and a civil lawsuit against former TEPCO managers, criticized the Supreme Court’s decision at a news conference on March 6.
“Its logic was too rough,” Kaido said.
But he said some good came out of the trial and appeals process, which took more than seven years to complete.
Many TEPCO employees and other related parties testified as witnesses.
“The testimonies at the trial have become invaluable evidence when discussing the nuclear accident,” Kaido said.
In the civil lawsuit, the Tokyo District Court ordered the former TEPCO managers to pay more than 13 trillion yen ($88 billion) in damages over the nuclear accident.
The defendants appealed the ruling, and the Tokyo High Court is expected to hand down its ruling in June.
“It is important to ensure the district court’s ruling is upheld,” Kaido said.
DISAPPOINTMENT
In the criminal case, prosecutors initially decided not to charge the former TEPCO executives.
But a citizens inquest panel twice ruled that they should be prosecuted, and mandatory indictments were applied.
(A third former TEPCO executive was charged, but his trial was terminated after his death in October last year.)
The four designated lawyers who acted as prosecutors in the trial held a news conference after the top court’s decision.
“The Supreme Court did not respond to our arguments,” Shozaburo Ishida said. “I wish they had made a more rigorous decision.”
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