Prime Minister
The controversial decision was made at a ministerial meeting on Tuesday morning, as a significant amount of the water has accumulated at the site since the 2011 nuclear accident triggered by a devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami.
Kishida's government is likely to face a backlash from some in the fisheries industry and anti-nuclear activists, who feel the plan is going ahead without their consent or sufficient explanation.
During the gathering at the prime minister's office, Kishida vowed to make the utmost effort to dispose of the treated water and decommission the wrecked plant in a safe manner, saying, "The government will take full responsibility, even if it takes decades."
In the wake of Kishida's announcement,
In
The
While several European countries have lifted restrictions on Japanese food imports,
For years,
Yamaguchi, chief of the Komeito party, known for its close ties with
In
At home, local fishermen have opposed the water release plan amid worries that the reputation of their seafood products could face further harm, arguing they have already endured years of arduous efforts to regain consumer trust after the initial nuclear crisis.
Considering such fears from the fishing community, the government has decided to discharge the treated water before the start of the trawl fishing season off Fukushima in September, sources close to the matter said.
Trying to convince fishermen to consent to the government's plan, Kishida visited the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex on Sunday and spoke with the head of
However, the
At Monday's meeting, Kishida said he will keep trying to communicate with local fishermen to win their group's backing for his administration's efforts to ensure the safety of the water and for its measures to respond to potential reputational damage.
The government has set up two separate funds worth
Nevertheless, Tuesday's decision has drawn sharp reactions in
Since the nuclear disaster, the water has been kept in more than 1,000 tanks installed at the site after undergoing treatment through an advanced liquid processing system, which is believed to be able to remove most radionuclides except tritium.
The operator has claimed that the tanks are nearing their capacity and are expected to reach their limit as early as 2024 unless the operator initiates the release of the treated water, of which there is now in excess of 1.3 million tons.
The government and
The treated water will be diluted with seawater to one-40th of the concentration permitted under Japanese safety standards before being discharged via an underwater tunnel 1 kilometer from the plant.
Tritium is known to be less harmful to the human body than other radioactive materials, including cesium and strontium, given that it emits very weak levels of radiation and does not accumulate or concentrate inside the human body.
But critics say it remains uncertain whether the radioactive material is definitely safe for humans and the environment, citing a lack of long-term data.
==Kyodo
© Kyodo News International, Inc., source