July 7, 2023

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo, regarding the planned release of the ALPS-treated radiation-tainted water into the ocean from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, said that the most important thing is that the government and the NPP operator Tokyo Electric Power Company should keep their pledge that they will not go ahead with the plan without gaining consent from local fishermen and local residents. He demanded the cancellation of the plan.

He made this remark on July 6 before the press corps in the Diet building when asked for a comment on the previous day’s publication of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Comprehensive Report on the Safety Review of the ALPS Treated Water in which the IAEA concluded that Japan’s ocean release plan is “consistent with relevant international safety standards”.

Shii pointed out that the national and the Fukushima prefectural federations of fisheries co-operative associations are firmly opposed to the discharge of the ALPS-treated water into the sea. In addition, he noted that the Iwaki City assembly in Fukushima in June unanimously resolved to oppose the planned ocean release. He stressed that the discharge plan failed to obtain consent not only from the fishing industry but also from local residents, and added that the government should cancel the plan in light of its promises to parties concerned.

Shii pointed out that the IAEA stated that the report gives neither a recommendation nor an endorsement to the ocean release policy. He said that this indicated that the IAEA avoided making its position clear, and added, “It is unacceptable for the Kishida government to use the IAEA report to justify the ocean release plan.”

Past related article:
> Fisheries cooperative association head opposes ocean release of radiation-tainted Fukushima water [ April 8, 2021]