Japan to release Fukushima water into ocean from Thursday

The planned release on Thursday, which Japan says is safe, has also faced criticism from local fishing groups who fear reputational damage and a threat to their livelihood.

Meanwhile, dozens of protestors stood in front of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's office on Tuesday to protest against the water release.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, greenlighted the plan in July, saying that it met international standards and that the impact it would have on people and the environment was "negligible".

Hong Kong announced on Tuesday that it would introduce a ban on some Japanese seafood imports, as lawmakers led a small demonstration strongly opposing the release of treated radioactive water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

On Thursday, the same day Hong Kong's ban would take effect, Japan will begin releasing more than a million tons of water from the plant located north of Tokyo, insisting that it is safe to do so. The plant was devastated by a tsunami in 2011, and the water has primarily been used to cool the damaged reactors.

Hong Kong's Environment Secretary, Tse Chin-wan, stated during a press conference that the ban would cover imported aquatic products from 10 Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima and Tokyo. The measure encompasses live, frozen, refrigerated, and dried aquatic products, as well as sea salt and seaweed.

A dozen demonstrators, led by pro-establishment lawmakers Joephy Chan and Bill Tang, staged a protest against Japan's release of Fukushima nuclear water, where they condemned Japan's "irresponsible act" and handed over a letter to a representative from the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong.

An Australian radiation expert said on Tuesday that he views Japan’s plan to release treated water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant as safe, amid confirmation of the plan’s go-ahead.

Japan says the water will be filtered to remove most radioactive elements except for tritium, an isotope of hydrogen that is difficult to separate from water. The treated water will be diluted to well below internationally approved levels of tritium before being released into the Pacific.

University of Adelaide Associate Professor and Director for the Centre for Radiation Research, Education and Innovation, Tony Hooker, told Reuters that there are treated water releases from other nuclear facilities across the world that currently contain higher levels of tritium than the scheduled Fukushima one.

Hooker also highlighted the plan’s necessity to mitigate the risk of further endangering the area from potential earthquakes damaging the water storage tanks, adding that space is needed to further decommission the plant’s existing reactors.

IAEA said in July that it met international standards and that the impact it would have on people and the environment was negligible.

The water was used to cool the fuel rods of Fukushima Daiichi after it melted down in an accident caused by a huge tsunami in 2011 that battered Japan's eastern coast.

South Korea also said on Tuesday it sees no problem with the scientific or technical aspects of Japan's plan to release water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant but it does not necessarily support the plan.

The South Korean government said it had been notified by Japan of its decision and believes Japan will execute the release of the water according to the plan.

The administration of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has faced a fine line over the issue as it seeks to improve relations with Japan while the risk of a broader consumer backlash persists at home.

Reuters