This photo shows storage tanks at the Fukushima nuclear power plant on Feb. 6, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 5 (Korea Bizwire) — More than half of the Japanese public believes that Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO)’s plan to release the contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant this spring or the summer is not in the interest of the Japanese public, a survey showed Tuesday.
The Japan Nuclear Energy Foundation surveyed 1,200 Japanese citizens between the ages of 15-79, 51.9 percent of whom said the release of the contaminated water “isn’t in the interest of the public,” easily surpassing the 6.5 percent who said otherwise.
Among the respondents, 42.3 percent said that the contaminated water “should not be released without consent from the fisheries community,” also surpassing the 5.6 percent who said that the water should be released “regardless of consent.”
As for the idea of releasing the water into the open ocean, 21 percent said the water could be released once it meets government standards, surpassing the 16 percent who said the water “should not be released even if it meets the standards.”
Another 27.4 percent said the water “should not be released without the consent of neighboring countries,” surpassing the 9.5 percent that said otherwise.
At 34.5 percent, roughly one-third of the respondents said Japanese consumers would become more reluctant to purchase agricultural and fisheries products from Fukushima if the water is released. Only 10.8 percent said otherwise.
Another 38.3 percent believed that other countries would become more reluctant to import Japanese agricultural and fisheries products, surpassing the 4.2 percent who said otherwise.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
