Japan announces it will release treated radioactive water from Fukushima nuclear plant into sea

The Japanese government decided on Tuesday to release treated radioactive water accumulating at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, having assessed there will be no negative impact on human health or the environment despite concerns from local fishermen and neighbouring countries.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga met members of his Cabinet including industry minister Hiroshi Kajiyama to formalise the decision, which comes a decade after a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered a triple meltdown in March 2011.

The decision came despite China saying it had “deep concerns” over the plan. On Monday China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Beijing had through diplomatic channels asked the Japanese government to “adopt a responsible attitude”.

“The Japanese side often asks other countries to fulfil their international responsibilities, and right now, the international society is looking at Japan – so Japan cannot turn a blind eye or turn a deaf ear,” he said. “This issue is very significant, so Japan needs to be responsible to the international public interests, which is also being responsible to the Japanese people’s interests.”

Zhao had previously said he hoped Japan would conduct a “thorough assessment” of the treatment process for the tritium-contaminated waste water, and “disclose relevant information in a voluntary, timely, strict, accurate, open and transparent manner, and make prudent decisions after full consultation with neighbouring countries”.

South Korea had also raised concerns about the plan, as had Japanese fishermen who fear consumers will shun Japanese seafood over safety concerns. Yet these concerns appear to have fallen on deaf ears.