A year has passed since treated water containing trace amounts of tritium started to be released into the sea from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
While the move is said to have had no significant impact on the prices of fishery products, tourism or the surrounding environment, challenges remain, including a number of hurdles for Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ decommissioning of its reactors and measures to reduce the generation of contaminated water.
One day in August, the high-spirited voices of local fishermen were heard at Hisanohama fishing port in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, as they unloaded fresh flounders, round greeneyes and other fish caught off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, known as Joban-mono — or seafood from the Joban northeastern Japan coastal region.
Looking back over the year after the release of the treated water began, Mitsunori Suzuki, 73, who has engaged in trawl fishing for more than 50 years, said, “Despite our concerns, we saw almost no reputational damage.”
According to the Fukushima Prefectural Government, the average market price of flounders, the mainstay Joban-mono, was ¥1,034 ($7.2) per kilogram in the 12 months since August last year, up ¥78 from the same period a year earlier.
In the absence of price decreases, the central and prefectural governments conclude that there has been almost no reputational impact to seafood from the region.
However, those in the local fisheries industry say the prices are holding up because there is momentum to support Fukushima, but they are not optimistic about the future due to it being a temporary measure.
The trading of Joban-mono increased in response to a central government initiative after the treated water started to be released.
But this process is expected to continue for around 30 years.
In April, the release of treated water was temporarily halted after a worker accidentally damaged a power cable at the Fukushima plant, partially cutting off the supply of power.
If such incidents continue to occur, they could pose reputational risks to Joban-mono.
The prefecture’s fisheries association is working to strengthen the brand so that its reputation won’t be tainted by rumors sparked by such incidents.
Another challenge facing the sector is in attempts to increase catch sizes, which have been sluggish since the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown in 2011.
In 2023, the catch off the coast of Fukushima totaled 6,530 metric tons; while this is a record high since the disaster, it is still only a quarter of 2010’s catch.
To boost these numbers, it is critical that fishermen from Fukushima Prefecture be again allowed to fish off the coasts of neighboring Miyagi and Ibaraki prefectures, and vice versa, which had been the case before the disaster.
Following the nuclear meltdown, the Fukushima fisheries association agreed with its counterparts in Miyagi and Ibaraki prefectures to refrain from fishing off the coasts of one another’s prefectures.
In 2021, they started discussing abolishing this restriction, following which, in September last year,
Fukushima Prefecture’s trawlers resumed operations off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture.
However, there is no clear prospect of this happening in Ibaraki Prefecture. A fisheries industry official in Fukushima Prefecture involved in the negotiation revealed that it is taking time for the two sides to agree on how marine resources should be managed. The official also said Ibaraki Prefecture remains cautious as it is still assessing the impact of the release of treated water on its industry.
“(The Ibaraki officials) might be having difficulty making the decision to share fertile fishing grounds, worrying that it might lead to a collapse in the prices for marine products,” the official said, emphasizing the need for continued engagement on the issue.
The Fukushima fisheries association, which aims to return local catch to predisaster levels, had started discussing resuming operations in fishing grounds within 10 kilometers of the Fukushima No. 1 plant, but the prospects for this have become uncertain with the release of the treated water into the ocean.
It is asking the central government to continue taking measures against reputational damage and offering assistance to the local fishing community.
At the same time, the local fishermen have lost trust in the central government after it decided on proceeding with the plan to release the treated water into the ocean despite opposition from the fisheries industry in and out of Fukushima Prefecture.
In announcing the decision, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, “Even though operations will last for decades, the government will take responsibility until the release is completed.”
The local fishing industry has become increasingly distrustful of Kishida, who suddenly expressed his intention of not seeking reelection as Liberal Democratic Party leader in this month’s presidential race.
“Concerns over treated water will remain for a long time,” a Fukushima fisheries industry official said. “We want the government to work with us as one to cope with the issue.”