Treated radioactive wastewater set to be released in ocean worries businesses in Japan
CTV
Within weeks, the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is expected to start releasing treated radioactive wastewater into the sea, a highly contested plan still facing fierce protests in and outside Japan.
Beach season has started across Japan, which means seafood for holiday makers and good times for business owners. But in Fukushima, that may end soon.
Within weeks, the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is expected to start releasing treated radioactive wastewater into the sea, a highly contested plan still facing fierce protests in and outside Japan.
The residents worry that the water discharge 12 years after the nuclear disaster could deal another setback to Fukushima's image and hurt their businesses and livelihoods.
"Without a healthy ocean, I cannot make a living," said Yukinaga Suzuki, a 70-year-old innkeeper at Usuiso beach in Iwaki about 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the plant. And the government has yet to announce when the water release will begin.
It's not yet clear whether, or how, damaging the release will be. But residents say they feel "shikataganai" -- meaning helpless.
Suzuki has requested officials to hold the plan at least until the swimming season ends in mid-August.
"If you ask me what I think about the water release, I'm against it. But there is nothing I can do to stop it as the government has one-sidedly crafted the plan and will release it anyway," he said. "Releasing the water just as people are swimming at sea is totally out of line, even if there is no harm."
