Fishermen and other locals in northeastern
One fishing industry worker in coastal Fukushima Prefecture said the decision to start releasing the water Thursday was a "surprise attack" because it was made without the national fisheries federation first being notified. In the capital, too, activists came out to protest the move.
The announcement came a day after Prime Minister
Nakajima said he could never forget the way customers had flatly refused to sample local octopus in 2012, shortly after trial fishing began in nearby waters following the nuclear accident triggered by a devastating earthquake and tsunami the preceding year.
"Catch from the area won't sell, it will be a repeat of before," the 67-year-old said.
Meanwhile, a worker at a local produce market for tourists in Iwaki, Fukushima, said, "I'm not worried because they're probably releasing the water because it's okay to do so," calling for enhancing the attractiveness of the region.
But he added, "I will continue buying tasty Fukushima fish."
"Our opposition to the ocean release plan, which cannot gain understanding from fishery operators and the people, remains totally unchanged," the statement said.
And while Sakamoto acknowledged that "scientific understanding of safety has deepened" over the issue, he said it "differs from social confidence, and citing scientific safety will not stop reputational damage."
In response to concerns from the fishing community, the government has established two separate funds worth
In a meeting with Fukushima Gov.
Hundreds of kilometers from the crippled plant, anti-nuclear activists also gathered outside the prime minister's office in
Participants urged the government to "listen to the voices of fishermen" and not to discharge "contaminated water into the sea."
"We don't know how long the water release will take and it will leave a debt for future generations," said
"A concrete path toward decommissioning nuclear reactors must come first," Tani said.
==Kyodo
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