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Fukushima nuclear disaster and water releasei

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan, following a devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, which claimed nearly 19,000 lives.

Japan is now looking to dump the treated radioactive waste water into the sea, stirring debates and boycotts at home and abroad.

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  • The decontamination of the nuclear plant is expected to take around 30 to 40 years, based on past estimates
  • Experts involved in the clean-up urge patience, saying several milestones have been achieved that make the site 90 per cent accessible
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The presence of the three ships close to Japan’s coast is Moscow’s “signal” to Tokyo to withdraw support for sanctions against Russia, analysts say.

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The funds will be part of a US$1 billion recovery package and include programmes such as covering half the cost of a night’s stay in hotels in the affected prefectures.

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Japanese Consul General Kenichi Okada urges end to ban on seafood arriving from 10 prefectures following waste water discharge from Fukushima nuclear plant.

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Japan’s nuclear watchdog lifted its operational ban imposed on the operator behind the Fukushima plant disaster, allowing it to work towards restarting reactors at a plant in Niigata prefecture.

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A Daily Mail article speculated that the death of some 1,000 tonnes of fish in Hokkaido was related to Japan’s ‘release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant’.

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The plant’s operator said radioactive materials may have touched the man’s face when he took off a full-face mask after finishing his work.

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Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the recent meeting between two nations’ leaders points to healthy, stable development, according to Japanese reports.

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Defence and maritime security cooperation – and US$6.3 billion worth of investment – were also discussed during the Japanese prime minister’s visit to Malaysia at the weekend.

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China’s seafood ban and reports of its impact on the Japanese fishing industry may have tempered local criticism of the water release and encouraged people to eat more seafood from Fukushima.

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The Fukushima nuclear plant expects to release 7,800 tons of treated water into the ocean, between now and November 20 – the same amount as the first two rounds of discharges.

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Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan stresses ban in response to Japan’s radioactive waste water discharge important for protecting residents’ health.

Top Japanese diplomat Okada Kenichi says it’s ‘heartbreaking’ to hear Japanese businesses in Hong Kong say sales have dropped ‘because of rumours’.

The first purchase of seafood by the US under the scheme involves just shy of a tonne of scallops – a tiny fraction of more than 100,000 tonnes of scallops that Japan exported to mainland China last year.

The incident occurred when a group of workers was cleaning the piping at a waste water filtering facility that is key to the treatment of the radioactive waste water.

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Ambassador Rahm Emanuel accuses Beijing, which has banned import of Japanese fish, of a double standard, saying China is fishing in the same waters.

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IAEA to test water, sediment and seafood after second discharge from stricken plant, in the first inter-lab marine mission to include a Chinese lab.

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Japan’s foreign ministry said it would ‘strongly demand’ the withdrawal of import restrictions Russia introduced nearly two months after the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant started releasing waste water.

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Japan is stepping up promotions of its seafood products in Southeast Asia but some consumers remain sceptical about Tokyo’s food-safety assurances post-Fukushima.

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