8 months ago
99 Protesters clasp signs speechmaking "Don't propulsion radioactive contaminated h2o into the sea!" arsenic they instrumentality portion successful a rally extracurricular the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) office gathering successful Tokyo connected August 24, 2023, against the Japanese government's program to merchandise treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima-Daiichi powerfulness works into the ocean.
Kazuhiro Nogi | Afp | Getty Images
China connected Thursday suspended the import of each aquatic products from Japan, including edible seafood, hours aft its neighbour started releasing treated radioactive h2o from the stricken Fukushima atomic powerfulness plant.
Seafood exports from Japan to China see reddish oversea bream, scallops, and mackerel, according to Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. China is besides Japan's largest importer of fish, bringing successful 71.7 cardinal yen ($493.4 million) of food successful 2022 and 53.56 cardinal yen worthy of crustaceans and mollusks, similar crabs and scallops.
The discharge of the treated h2o was expected to commencement aft 1 p.m. Toyko time, according to media reports citing authorities owned energy steadfast TEPCO.
China's customs agency said successful a connection that this was to "comprehensively forestall the hazard of radioactive contamination of nutrient safety, support the wellness of Chinese consumers, and guarantee the information of imported food," according to a Google translation.
The determination extends an earlier prohibition connected imports from the areas instantly surrounding the atomic plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday that it volition person a squad contiguous to show the discharge and measure Japan's exertion of each applicable planetary information standards.
The IAEA volition person a beingness connected tract "for arsenic agelong arsenic the treated h2o is released, successful enactment with Director General Grossi's committedness for the IAEA to prosecute with Japan connected the discharge of ALPS treated h2o before, during, and aft the treated h2o discharges occur."
ALPS refers to the Advanced Liquid Processing System that astatine Fukushima, which removes radioactive worldly from the wastewater earlier it is released.
The lone radioactive constituent that cannot beryllium easy removed from h2o is tritium, and a spokesperson for Japan's Embassy successful London said that the h2o to beryllium discharged is "sufficiently purified done ALPS until the attraction of radioactive materials different than tritium is beneath the regulatory standard, and past is further diluted earlier it is discharged."
On Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the state plans to discharge astir 1.3 cardinal metric tons of treated wastewater — capable to capable astir 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools — from Fukushima. A monolithic earthquake and tsunami successful March 2011 destroyed the atomic powerfulness plant, which is situated connected Japan's eastbound coast.
China responded furiously, with Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin connected Tuesday accusing Tokyo of being "extremely selfish and irresponsible" by pressing up with the disposal of the water, adding that the water should beryllium treated arsenic a communal bully for humanity "not a sewer for Japan's nuclear-contaminated water."
Hong Kong besides announced import curbs connected immoderate Japanese nutrient products Tuesday, with the city's Chief Executive John Lee saying helium powerfully opposes the wastewater discharge.
The IAEA said successful aboriginal July that Tokyo's plans were accordant with planetary standards and volition person a "negligible" interaction connected radical and the environment.
South Korea said past week it respected the IAEA's report and that its ain investigation had recovered the merchandise volition not person "any meaningful impact" connected its waters, though it added successful a connection that it "does not needfully hold with oregon enactment the program to merchandise contaminated water."
— CNBC's Sam Meredith contributed to this report.
