Japan is getting ready to release more water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. This comes after they did it in August, which made some countries, especially China, upset.
In August 2023, Japan started putting some of the Fukushima water that had been piling up at the plant into the Pacific Ocean. They had stored this water since 2011 when a big tsunami damaged the plant. China got angry and banned all Japanese seafood imports, and they kept this ban even though Japan said it was safe.
Russia, who doesn’t have a great relationship with Japan, is thinking about doing the same seafood ban. In the first release, they let out about 7,800 tonnes of water, but there’s still a lot more to go—like filling over 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Japan says they cleaned the water to remove harmful stuff, except for tritium, which is safe in small amounts. The United Nations agrees with Japan on this.
China says Japan is treating the sea like a garbage dump, and they got support from the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands at the United Nations.
The big plan here is to make room for removing the dangerous radioactive materials from the damaged reactors. Japan says they will keep an eye on the tritium levels and share scientific information with the public.
Even though China said no to Japanese seafood, there are reports that Chinese fishing boats are still catching fish in the same areas where Japanese boats work. The US Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, shared pictures of Chinese boats doing this.
As Japan moves ahead with its plan to release more Fukushima wastewater, it faces criticism from other countries and a challenge to make sure it’s not harming the environment. This decision will have a lasting impact on Japan’s relations with its neighbors and how it deals with the Fukushima nuclear disaster’s aftermath.
