Tokyo, 22 August, /AJMEDIA/
Anti-nuclear activists gathered outside the prime minister’s office Tuesday to oppose a government decision to begin discharging treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant later this week.
Some 230 people joined the protest, according to an anti-nuclear campaign group, urging the government to “listen to the voices of fishermen” and not to discharge “contaminated water into the sea” after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the release will begin as early as Thursday.
“We don’t know how long the water release will take and it will leave a debt for future generations,” said Masashi Tani, director of the Japan Congress against A- and H-Bombs, speaking in front of the protesters.
“A concrete path toward decommissioning nuclear reactors must come first,” Tani said.
The controversial decision to discharge the treated water came despite concerns among local fishermen and strong opposition from China.
A significant amount of the water has accumulated at the Fukushima plant in northeastern Japan since the 2011 nuclear accident triggered by a devastating earthquake and tsunami.
Miwako Kitamura, a 55-year-old resident of Chiba Prefecture who attended the rally, said, “It is unacceptable that this decision has been forced through even with opposition from many of the people and from the fishing industry in Tohoku.”