Fisheries associations in Fukushima Prefecture told Japan's industry minister Tuesday they remain opposed to releasing treated radioactive water from the crippled nuclear power plant into the sea despite a U.N. watchdog's safety assurance on the plan.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura briefed the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations in their meeting in northeastern Japan about the International Atomic Energy Agency's comprehensive assessment released last week.
The government seeks their understanding as it aims to start releasing the water around this summer.
The IAEA said in the report that the plan is "consistent" with international safety standards and would have "a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment." But local fishermen and countries like China, Russia and North Korea remain opposed.
Nishimura told the fishermen that the discharge of the treated water is a necessary step toward completing the decommissioning of the damaged reactors and facilitating the recovery of Fukushima from the 2011 disaster, in which the Fukushima Daiichi power plant suffered meltdowns triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami.
"We basically take the position to oppose the discharge of treated water into the sea," Tetsu Nozaki, head of the federation, told Nishimura during the meeting.
The government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. promised local fishermen in 2015 that they would not release of the treated water into the sea without gaining the "understanding" of concerned parties.
Following the IAEA's announcement of its findings in the review, China suggested it may expand its restrictions on food imports from Japan if the discharge plan goes ahead.
Other countries, including South Korea and New Zealand, have shown confidence in the IAEA's assessment.
South Korea's government, following on-site observations by its delegation of experts at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in May, has affirmed that the treated water from Fukushima is in line with international safety standards based on its own analysis. The country's opposition lawmakers, however, still oppose the discharge.
TEPCO is processing the water through an advanced liquid processing system that removes radionuclides other than tritium.
The treated water will be diluted to one-40th of the concentration permitted under Japanese safety standards before being released via an underwater tunnel 1 kilometer off the power plant.
