Japan PM eat Fukushima Fish To Declare It's Safe After The Nuclear Wastewater Discharge (Image: https://twitter.com/JPN_PMO)
“Safe and delicious”, Japan”s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ate Fukushima fish along with three cabinet ministers on Wednesday.
The PM himself released a video showing him and other ministers eating, as an effort to declare the fish from the region is safe following the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that began last week.
In the video, Mr Kishida and his cabinet ministers are seen eating Fukushima fish sashimi, a typical Japanese delicacy consisted of fresh raw fish sliced into thin pieces. They were attending a launch meeting on Wednesday.
The attempt comes shortly after China banned all seafood imports from the region following the discharge of radioactive water.
“Let’s support the Sanriku & Joban regions through food! These regions, consisting of Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures, offer wonderful marine products”, said the Prime Minister Office of Japan on X (formerly Twitter) sharing the video.
“We have just eaten some of their fine products here”, Mr Kishida added.
Let’s support the Sanriku & Joban regions through food! These regions, consisting of Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures, offer wonderful marine products.
▼The Safety of ALPS treated water dischargehttps://t.co/HHAA3sWDHG
▼Video Messagehttps://t.co/a3ViPgCS6u pic.twitter.com/gnq7PTMDir— PM”s Office of Japan (@JPN_PMO) August 31, 2023
The sashimi lunch consisted of flounder, octopus and sea bass, caught off the Fukushima coast was an attempt to dismiss the worries and controversies emerged after the release of radioactive water to the Pacific Ocean.
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which is a disabled nuclear power plant, has began the discharge on August 24. The plant was destroyed after being hit by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 and wastewater has been accumulating ever since.
The release of treated wastewater was expected to continue for decades and it was strongly opposed by the the fishing communities. The neighbouring countries who depend Japan”s seafood exports have also criticised the country”s discharge plan.
China immediately banned seafood exports and in South Korea thousands of people joined rallies over the weekend to condemn the discharge.
All seawater and fish sampling data since the release have been way below set safety limits, reported the Associated Press.
Fish tested in waters around the nuclear plant area did not contain detectable levels of the radioactive elements, Al Jazeera quoted the Japan”s Fisheries Agency.
