Japan Marks 1 Year of Fukushima N-Plant Water Release

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)--Japan on Saturday marked a year since it started to release tritium-containing treated water into the sea from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, with the country still facing a long road ahead in completing the discharge project. 

While a total of around 60,000 tons of treated water has been discharged from the northeastern Japan plant that was devastated by the March 2011 powerful earthquake and tsunami, there have been no issues in tritium levels reported in nearby waters so far.

With some 1.31 million tons of treated water still stored at the power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, the water discharge process is expected to take 30 years or so to complete.

Before being discharged, the treated water, or wastewater from which radioactive substances other than tritium have been removed, is diluted with seawater so that the tritium concentration is below the safety limit of 1,500 becquerels per liter. The country is currently discharging its eighth batch of treated water.

Responding to Japan's start of the water discharge on Aug. 24, 2023, China imposed a blanket ban on imports of Japanese fishery products.

This delivered a major blow to Japanese fishery operators, given that China was a major export destination.

Despite the International Atomic Energy Agency concluding that the water release project meets international safety standards following two rounds of on-site inspections, and both the Japanese government and TEPCO stressing the procedure's safety backed by data showing tritium levels standing below the country's safety standards, China has held onto its import ban.

On Saturday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the Onahama fish market in the Fukushima city of Iwaki and met with fishery operators.

At the market, the prime minister inspected fish being tested for radioactive materials. He also sampled local marine products, touting their safety.

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