TOKYO – Multiple activities were held by the Japanese public on Monday to oppose Japan’s plan to dump nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea as the country celebrated its Marine Day by giving thanks to the ocean and its blessings, reported Xinhua.
In Iwaki city of Fukushima prefecture, about a hundred people, including residents and those who work in the fishing industry, gathered under the scorching sun to decry the government’s planned discharge of radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
“Listen to the screams of Fukushima!” said Masahide Kimura from Koreumi, a Japanese citizens’ conference to condemn ocean pollution, which was also one of the organisers of Monday’s rally.
Under a sign that read “Stop Contaminated Water Marine Day Action”, people at the rally expressed their strong opposition, demanding the Japanese government to reconsider the plan.
A project called Mirainoumi or Future’s Ocean was launched on Monday to protect the ocean by preventing the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company from dumping the contaminated water into the sea.
The project was initiated by non-profit organisations, including Fukushima Peace Forum.
It will disseminate opinions against the discharge both from home and abroad by collecting signatures, establishing a web homepage and producing short videos, Masashi Tani, head of the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs as one of the initiators, told a press conference earlier this month.
According to Tani, the organisation believes the nuclear-polluted water should not be discharged into the sea, and the government should consider adding water storage tanks.
The radioactive substances produced by the nuclear accident cannot be discharged into nature but should be properly sealed, said Tani, adding that a clean ocean must be saved for the future.
He said the Future’s Ocean project would continue to oppose the discharge. Even if the Japanese government pushed forward with the plan, it would take a long time to complete the discharge and efforts must be made to stop it even after the discharge had started.
“Leaving a clean ocean for the future is the responsibility of our generation,” Tani said.
Following a discussion with Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Yasutoshi Nishimura, last week, Masanobu Sakamoto, president of the national federation of fisheries cooperatives, known as JF Zengyoren, emphasised the federation’s unchanged opposition to the plan.
After meeting with Nishimura, Tetsu Nozaki, head of the Fukushima fisheries associations, stressed that the discharge could not be tolerated as it was widely agreed that “no disposal (of nuclear-contaminated water) will be carried out without the understanding of relevant parties”.
Some 80.3 per cent of respondents said the explanation provided by the government on the plan was insufficient, a poll conducted by the national news agency Kyodo News showed on Sunday. – Bernama
