Japan - August 23, 2024

Protesters gathered at the Fukushima Citizens Hall on Friday to voice their opposition to the discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the sea.

Despite persistent opposition at home and abroad, Japan on Wednesday started its eighth round of nuclear-contaminated wastewater release from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the plant's operator, will discharge about 7,800 tons of wastewater from storage tanks into the Pacific Ocean until Aug. 25.

After a gathering at the Fukushima Citizens Hall, protesters then took to the streets to express their opposition and dissatisfaction with the release.

Hit by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and an ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011, the Fukushima nuclear plant suffered core meltdowns that released radiation, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.

The plant has been generating a massive amount of water tainted with radioactive substances from cooling down nuclear fuel in reactor buildings. The contaminated water is now being stored in tanks at the nuclear plant.

Despite opposition from local fishermen, residents and the international community, discharge of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water into sea began in August 2023.

Shotlist:
Fukushima, Japan - Aug 23, 2024:
1. Various of building of Fukushima Civic Hall;
2. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) protester (name not given) (starting with shot 1/ending with shot 3):
"They only just diluted the harmful substances and called it all safe. How can we accept that? After all the discharged substances are harmful. So we think it is worrying and we cannot pollute the ocean. This is a hazard not only to the residents of Fukushima, but also to the entire Japanese people.";
3. Various of protester speaking at rally; attendees listening, writing;
4. Various of protesters holding banners, marching;
5. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) protester (name not given) (ending with shot 6):
"I also have children. I came here because I am worried about the next generation, like my children. What should we do if this problem remains unsolved? I think it is important to raise our voice in various places and to keep telling people that we must never do such a thing";
6. Various of protesters holding banners, marching;
7. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) protester (name not given) (partially overlaid with shot 8):
"I have been working for the fisheries cooperative in the border area between Ibaraki Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture. I was shocked to find that the handwritten numbers had been tampered with. So I filed a request for information disclosure and compared the actual measured values with the published values. It turns out that the two are inconsistent. This makes me wonder what to believe.";
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
FILE: Fukushima, Japan - Feb 16, 2022
8. Aerial shots of nuclear power plant, seaside;
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
Fukushima, Japan - Aug 23, 2024
9. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) protester (name not given) (ending with shot 10):
"Although the Japanese government and TEPCO have said that it is safe to discharge the water into the sea, what is actually discharged is radioactive material. I think the impact of radioactive material will inevitably appear in ten or even several dozen years. I hope to convey this message to everyone.";
FILE: Fukushima, Japan - Feb 6, 2024
10. Various of nuclear-contaminated water storage tanks;
FILE: Fukushima, Japan - Feb 6, 2024
11. Various of nuclear-contaminated water storage tanks, facilities;
12. Various of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) facilities;
FILE: Fukushima, Japan - Aug 24, 2023
13. Various of fishing boats berthed at port, dead fish.

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