STORY: Tests of Fukushima wastewater release facility spark outcry
DATELINE: June 13, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:42
LOCATION: Tokyo
CATEGORY: POLITICS/ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Japan
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Japanese): MIZUHO FUKUSHIMA, Head of Social Democratic Party
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Japanese): TOSHIKO OKADA, Member of a citizens' group
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Japanese): MUKAI, Sanya Labor Center member
5. screenshots of netizens' comments
6. various of Japan

STORYLINE:

The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has begun testing the equipment to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the Pacific amid fierce opposition from home and abroad.

Fears of nuclear contamination are growing, as many are worried that the environmental impact will be irreversible and can not be tested.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Japanese): MIZUHO FUKUSHIMA, Head of Social Democratic Party
"Radioactive materials, once discharged, cannot be retrieved, so they must be intensively managed. Such materials would be beyond management if they are discharged into the ocean. We can't allow such a thing to happen."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Japanese): TOSHIKO OKADA, Member of a citizens' group
"Our clean ocean and beautiful home should be given back to us. Don't discharge the nuclear wastewater (into the ocean)."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Japanese): MUKAI, Sanya Labor Center member
"The radioactive elements in the nuclear wastewater will return to the human body through the food chain, including algae and fish, and will again damage people's health. Your company's claim that there is no place to store the wastewater is groundless. It is a violation of the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972."

According to Japanese media, the test run of the discharge facility is expected to last for around two weeks, sparking a stir online.

On Saturday, Japanese Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura met with local fisheries representatives to seek their understanding for the planned release in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, where representatives expressed grave concerns over the move, saying "We're absolutely opposed to the release."

According to the Asahi Shimbun, one of the four most prominent newspapers in Japan, the Japanese government handed a document to the Fukushima prefectural fisheries cooperative association in 2015, in which the government pledged it "will not dispose of (treated water) without gaining the understanding of those concerned."

However, Masami Tobita, chairman of the fisheries cooperative association, said, "The government's planned countermeasures against unfounded rumors fall far short of what we requested. We are dead set against the water release plan."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Tokyo.
(XHTV)