It has been almost 10 years since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, but recently, the nuclear sewage problem in Fukushima, Japan has once again detonated major foreign media.
On the 16th local time, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said that the treatment of Fukushima nuclear sewage could not be delayed any longer.The Japanese government will hold a cabinet meeting in late October and formally decide to discharge 1.23 million tons of nuclear sewage containing radioactive tritium directly into the sea.
According to a report by the Japan News Agency on the 16th, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will produce 160-170 tons of polluted water every day after the nuclear leakage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. After purifying the polluted water with high concentration of radioactive substances, Tokyo Electric Power Company stores the water in the water tank in the nuclear power plant. But even the treated polluted water contains radioactive substances such as tritium. As of September 17th this year, the total amount of nuclear sewage from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was 1.23 million tons, filled with 1,044 water tanks, and the storage space is expected to be exhausted in the summer of 2022.
Therefore, it is time for the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company to decide how to treat the sewage.
According to Japanese media, the sewage will be "diluted 40 times" before being released, and the whole sewage discharge process will last for 30 years.The Japanese government believes that this scheme is a way to deal with the natural environment with "little impact".
This decision of the Japanese government instantly triggered a global uproar, which immediately led to dissatisfaction from neighboring countries such as South Korea. On the same day, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said that the Japanese government had decided to discharge Fukushima nuclear sewage into the sea, and the South Korean government had launched an inter-departmental response mechanism centered on the State Affairs Adjustment Office. The meeting of relevant departments was upgraded to the second official level (deputy minister level) on the 29th of last month. Yan Zaizhi, chairman of the Korea Atomic Energy Safety Committee, also said that the polluted water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant "will inevitably lead to the diffusion of radioactive tritium in the ocean".
The media in various countries also took turns to report on this matter. As can be seen from their reports, foreign media are worried about Japan’s move.
The British "Independent" directly reported that "under the strong opposition of environmentalists and the fishing industry, Japan is still preparing to discharge more than 1 million tons of nuclear polluted water from Fukushima power plant into the sea." ↓
New York Post believes that how to treat hundreds of tons of sewage from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been a long-term problem. Now, Japan’s decision will not only make its neighbor South Korea feel "angry", but also further destroy the fishery in Fukushima. ↓
Deutsche Welle (DW) quoted local farmers and fishermen as saying that this decision would ruin their efforts to restore the reputation of the region for several years. After that, people may even refuse to eat seafood and agricultural products from Fukushima. ↓
Al Jazeera is worried that the sewage problem in Fukushima has also caused concern about the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games, because some competition venues are even less than 60 kilometers away from the abandoned factory in Fukushima.
Yonhap News Agency said that South Korea is paying close attention to Japan’s sewage treatment activities and will strengthen cooperation with the international community and work together to deal with it. The report also appealed that South Korea had always asked Japan to keep information open and transparent in nuclear pollution treatment, and fully communicate with the international community, giving priority to the impact on the surrounding environment and the human body.
Opposition and protests in Japan have also continued.
The Japanese Fisheries Association and the local people in Fukushima expressed strong opposition to this decision.Most people in Japan also think that this move is "irresponsible" and "cowardly behavior".
According to the news agency, the president of the National Fisheries Cooperation Association of Japan, An Hong, also raised a clear objection at the government hearing on October 8. An Hong said that Fukushima residents have made many efforts to clean up the stigma of "aquatic products containing nuclear substances" for many years, and the government’s move will make all efforts go up in flames. At the same time, people will also look at all the aquatic products caught off the coast of Japan with "colored glasses", which is even worse for the already poor Japanese fishery.
What do Japanese netizens think?
Many netizens are critical of this.
Some people accuse the Japanese government of deceiving and concealing the people on the issue of nuclear sewage. "No one will believe the government now." ↓
"In the end, I only waited for countless times of deception, tampering and concealment from the government. Now, how many people believe that the government’s policy is safe? Shouldn’t nuclear power plants be built on a safe and recognized basis? If it is really safe to discharge sewage into the sea, why doesn’t the government discharge sewage into Tokyo Bay or sprinkle it around the National Assembly Hall to prove safety? "
"The fundamental problem is that the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company, which always respond to problems with lies and dishonesty, have no credit."
Some netizens asked: So will the sewage discharged into the sea have an impact on seafood and human body, and can the Japanese government give an exact explanation? ↓
"It really doesn’t matter, it really will be safe, please explain. Recently, the media has not reported much about nuclear power plants and sewage. I think this kind of thing should be reported well. Do members of Congress and Tokyo Electric Power Company also eat seafood caught in sewage? You won’t say’ it’s safe’ to the people and not eat it yourself, will you? Can you report the truth to the public! "
Others said that the Japanese government should make a decision after careful simulation and verification. ↓
"In order not to leave hidden dangers in the future, I hope the government can carefully simulate and verify the impact of this move on the environment."
Some netizens expressed angrily that they hoped the whole world would criticize Japan. ↓
"I hope the whole world will criticize Japan."
However, some netizens feel that this matter has nothing to do with themselves.Others declared, "This is also a helpless countermeasure."……↓
"Although the release is not good, it has already been in Man Cang, and there is no way to deal with it."
After the Japanese government announced this decision, "Fukushima nuclear sewage in Japan" also boarded the Twitter hot search in Japan on the 16th. Clicking on the hot search, a tweet published by Japanese novelist Daiyama Liren on the same day attracted the attention of many netizens and won nearly 3,000 likes.
"It is to prevent sewage from being discharged into the sea that we have stored them so far, isn’t it?"Daiyama Riren asked, "Did all our efforts in these nine years go up in flames?"
He went on to write: "The damage to the national reputation is uncontrollable and irreparable. It is precisely because we know this that we can’t release sewage into the ocean."
"Even if time passes, some things should not be forgotten."Lushan stressed.
Source: World Wide Web/Cui Wei
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