The Japanese government held a cabinet meeting of relevant ministries today (13th) and formally decided to discharge nuclear wastewater into the sea after dilution, with the goal of starting the discharge in 2 years. Pictured is Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was hit by a tsunami in 2011 after the 311 earthquake and a nuclear accident occurred, continuing to produce tritium-containing nuclear wastewater. The Japanese government today (13) held a cabinet meeting of relevant ministries and formally decided to discharge the nuclear wastewater into the sea after dilution, with the goal of starting to discharge in 2 years.
The Central News Agency quoted the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK) as reporting that, specifically, the Japanese government asked the Tokyo Electric Power Company, which operates the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, to set up the required equipment and make relevant preparations with the goal of discharging nuclear wastewater in 2 years.
The nuclear wastewater currently stored in the hinterland of the Fukushima Daiichi plant will be diluted to reduce the tritium concentration to 1/40th of Japan’s national standard and 1/7th of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) drinking water standard before being discharged.
Kyodo News reports that the nuclear wastewater will be discharged around 2041 to 2051, when the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is scheduled to have a waste furnace.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at the meeting today that the disposal of nuclear wastewater is an unavoidable issue for the reactor, and that the most realistic judgment is to discharge it into the sea under the premise of ensuring safety and making good countermeasures against negative perceptions.
In addition, the meeting also decided that the Fukushima local government and the agriculture and fishery industry will strengthen the monitoring of tritium concentration before and after the discharge of nuclear wastewater, and release objective information with the help of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in order to avoid negative perceptions.
The Japanese government will also assist fishermen in promoting their products and attracting tourists; if losses are still caused by negative perceptions, TEPCO will compensate them.
The relevant ministries will set up a new meeting to implement additional countermeasures in a mobile manner when necessary.
Nuclear wastewater storage will be full by 2022
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was hit by a tsunami in the 311 earthquake in 2011, and a nuclear accident occurred, requiring continuous water injection to cool the molten nuclear fuel rods in the reactor.
The tritium-containing nuclear wastewater is stored in the hinterland of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which has 1,061 storage tanks so far and is expected to be full by the fall of 2022.
The last time it was rumored that the Japanese government intended to discharge into the sea was in October 2020, which not only caused concern in neighboring countries, but even the Japan National Fisheries Cooperative Association (All Fishermen’s Association) also expressed strong opposition again. The Fukushima Minyou News reports that many grassroots fishermen are still strongly opposed to the discharge policy.
The Japan News Agency reports that Japanese Prime Minister Kan will soon decide on the policy of “discharging into the sea” regarding the disposal of nuclear wastewater, mainly because the number of storage tanks is nearing its limit and the deadline for disposal is approaching.
People protest outside the Prime Minister’s residence in Tokyo, Japan, April 12, 2021. Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continues to produce nuclear wastewater, and the Japanese government will hold a cabinet meeting of relevant ministries on the 13th to formally decide to dilute the nuclear wastewater and discharge it into the sea.
However, the Japanese political arena is currently in the period of senatorial by-elections, so that the LDP comrades questioned “why pick this time”, and it is difficult to hide the possible “wind evaluation harmed” (meaning affected by something and suffering from the negative perception of the outside world) once the decision of nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea policy policy. The government is also concerned about the possibility of a negative perception from the outside world if the policy of discharging nuclear waste water into the sea is decided.
A senior Japanese government official said on the 9th that “we can’t keep putting it off”, and a LDP official close to Kan said that “a decision has to be made sooner or later and it should be understood by the people”.
Within the Japanese government, many people believe that the realistic way to deal with nuclear waste water is to discharge it into the sea at an early stage. The expert meeting of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry compiled a report in 2016 and concluded that “the shortest time and least cost is required to discharge into the sea”.
But even though the Japanese government has almost made up its mind to discharge into the sea in the past, the reason why it still can’t do it is, a Japanese government source said, “because of the fear of a backlash from people related to the fishing industry”.
People protest outside the Prime Minister’s residence in Tokyo, Japan, April 12, 2021. Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continues to produce nuclear wastewater, and the Japanese government will hold a cabinet meeting of relevant ministries on the 13th to formally decide to dilute the nuclear wastewater and discharge it into the sea.
However, when the government does nothing, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continues to produce polluted water; the nuclear wastewater that has been treated is accumulating, and there is concern that it may have an impact on the waste furnace operation.
After taking office in September 2020, Kan attempted to break the deadlock on nuclear wastewater treatment. Although he was unable to coordinate with the All Fishermen’s Company for some time, he formally met with the president of the All Fishermen’s Company, Hiroshi Kishi, on April 7 this year and requested the assistance of the All Fishermen’s Company in the treatment of nuclear wastewater.
When it comes to the timing of the meeting, the Japanese government sources said that from the decision to discharge into the sea to the start of implementation, “the time required is measured in years, and it is now the last moment”.
For his part, a source from the LDP said, “(Kan) may want to show that he can push issues that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could not push”.
It is rumored that the Japanese government will hold a cabinet meeting on the 13th to make a decision, which is also the announcement day for the House of Representatives by-election, followed by the Senate by-election and other election battles, and then the House of Representatives general election in the fall. The young members of the Liberal Democratic Party said reluctantly that they did not understand why they had to make a decision before the by-election.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that the radioactive content of nuclear wastewater after dilution will be lower than the beverage standard value; however, because countries including South Korea and other countries believe that the discharge into the sea will affect the marine environment, a person who was a cabinet member of the Japanese government said, “(discharge into the sea) South Korea will certainly react, and may also have an impact on the Tokyo Olympics “.
Hebei Xinbao reports that TEPCO has repeatedly stressed that the plant’s storage tanks will be full around the fall of 2022, and that once the decision to discharge into the sea is made, it will also take about two years to prepare for it, so there is no more time to continue to hesitate.
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