With the release of treated water from the crippled nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture looming, embattled seafood businesses in the region fear fresh reputational damage to their products.
By around this summer, the Japanese government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. plan to eject water with trace amounts of tritium into the sea, as the company asserts that the decommissioning work of the reactors damaged by the 2011 disaster will be obstructed by many large tanks of treated water.
In April, discharge facilities were being rapidly constructed at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, with the operator aiming to complete them by the end of June in the first quarter of the new fiscal year.
TEPCO and the government promised local fishermen in 2015 they would not dispose of the treated water without gaining the “understanding” of concerned parties, but it remains unclear whether the two sides have agreed on what that means exactly.
The Japan Fisheries Cooperative and fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture remain opposed to the plan.
Among the 55 countries and regions that imposed restrictions on food imports from Japan in connection with the nuclear accident, 12 still keep some limits, according to the Japanese government, with China and Russia strongly opposing the discharge.
Through numerous events, local and central governments and industries have been promoting the “Joban mono” brand, generally referring to high-quality fresh fish caught in fertile waters off the coast of Fukushima.
After the accident caused by the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, fishing around the coast was voluntarily suspended but later resumed on a trial basis under strict screening of radiation levels in fish.
The trial fishing ended in March 2021, and the industry is transitioning to full-scale operations.
However, the volume and value of fish caught around the coast stood at 5,525 tons and about 3.5
billion yen ($26 million) in 2022, according to a prefectural official. Both figures were post-disaster highs but were still about 20 percent in volume and 40 percent in value compared with harvests before the catastrophe.
The Japanese government will aid fishermen through a new 50 billion yen in addition to a previously announced 30 billion yen fund, so they can deal with reputational damage and continue fishing.