TOKYO, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Japan said on Tuesday it will start releasing more than 1 million metric tonnes of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant on Aug. 24, putting into motion a plan that has drawn strong criticism from China.

The plan, approved two years ago by the Japanese government as crucial to decommissioning the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) (9501.T), has also faced criticism from local fishing groups, who fear reputational damage and a threat to their livelihood.

"I promise that we will take on the entire responsibility of ensuring the fishing industry can continue to make their living, even if that will take decades," Kishida said on Monday.

Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in July that Japan had shown selfishness and arrogance, and had not fully consulted the international community about the water release.

South Korean activists have also protested the plan, although Seoul has concluded from its own study that the water release meets international standards and said it respects the IAEA's assessment.

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.

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[–] arymandias@feddit.de 4 points 1 year ago

Jummy 😋☢️

[–] OnopordumAcanthium@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Japan is such a contradicting country. On one hand, i've always had the feeling that their culture and beliefs are bound to nature, many honor nature. On the other hand: this happens. Weird.

[–] fajitahornet 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

yeah everybody just ignore the actual important bit of information:

That water will contain about 190 becquerels of tritium per litre, below the World Health Organisation drinking water limit of 10,000 becquerels per litre, according to Tepco. A becquerel is a unit of radioactivity.

china and south korea beeing shocked is a political and cultural thing..because its always cool bashing thr neighbor to feel better about your self.

I'm no expert nor do i aprove atomic waste dumping in the ocean. just trying to bring up a.talking point here.

peace and love

[–] kandoh@reddthat.com 1 points 1 year ago

While the reported tritium levels may be below the World Health Organisation's drinking water limit, it's important to note that tritium's potential risks depend on various factors such as the quantity released, dilution rates in the ocean, and potential bioaccumulation in the aquatic ecosystem.

[–] possessedfaxmachine@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

Over the last three decades and especially the last decade (the Fukushima accident) TEPCO has a history of missteps, reprehensible neglect, denial, and most of all creative work with their own documents or even more creative backdating of already existing documents to make everything look okay on paper so they can continue to get funding from the government here (sorry, actually just a bunch of LDP gerontocrats and 日本会議 members) to cover their fuckups. They have shown nothing but a series of lies and utter incompetence over the past decade. Anything they say should be taken with a very large grain of salt. They seem to want to forget that even for days and perhaps weeks afterwards they claimed that nothing actually happened and that it was a fraction compared to XYZ. And actually there was no problem, they claimed there was no problem even when people started moving. And then they pretended that they never said there was no problem and were transparent. But people here are not used to question or check whatever they are being told