As activists slam IAEA’s approval of Fukushima water dump, others say criticism is ‘Japan bashing’

The IAEA endorsement is ‘ridiculous’ as the agency cannot be considered an independent arbiter given its role to ‘advance nuclear power’, one activist says

Some social media commentators in Japan dismissed the criticism, saying the issue had become an opportunity to engage in ‘Japan bashing’

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Fishermen sort a catch of Japanese icefish at Ukedo fishing port in Namie, Fukushima prefecture. Japanese fishermen have long been opposed to the plan to release the treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Photo: Bloomberg

Julian Ryall

Published: 9:30am, 6 Jul 2023Updated: 1:10pm, 6 Jul 2023

Japan’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean continues to stoke controversy despite winning approval from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog on Tuesday said the plan to gradually discharge more than 1.25 million tons of water was “consistent” with international safety standards and would have “a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment”, a position echoed by the Japanese media in its coverage of the IAEA report.

Public opinion on the matter seems to be polarised, with supporters of the government saying it is the right choice, but critics accusing the authorities of a decision with unknowable consequences.

The IAEA later said the report was “neither a recommendation nor an endorsement” of Japan’s decision to release the treated water.

Activists said they were “very disappointed” by the IAEA’s decision, despite the agency’s efforts to assure the local public about the safety of the release.

“In general, we are very disappointed by the decision,” said Hideyuki Ban, a co-director of the Tokyo-based Citizens’ Nuclear Information Centre. “The government promised that the water would not be released until the plan received the acceptance of the public, and that has clearly not happened.”

Critics argue no independent testing of the water was permitted and that the public only had the word of the IAEA, the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), the operator of the plant, that the water was safe to discharge.