China News Service, February 27th. According to comprehensive Japanese media reports, on February 25th local time, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura attended an exchange meeting with local fishery stakeholders in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture.

People in the fishing industry said at the meeting that continuing to promote the discharge of nuclear sewage into the sea is "breach of faith", while Nishimura said that the government "has no choice."

The picture shows the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan.

　　According to Japan's "Asahi Shimbun", the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company reached an agreement with the Fukushima Prefecture Fisheries Cooperative Association in 2015, stating that "the treated water will not be discharged without the knowledge of relevant people."

However, the continuous advancement of the sea discharge plan has made local fishermen feel "betrayed".

　　Fishing people said at the meeting that continuing to promote the nuclear treatment water discharge plan "reneged on the promise of the year" and "adopted the opposite position."

　　The president of a fisheries cooperative association in Fukushima Prefecture asked: "What makes the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company think that we have agreed (discharge of nuclear sewage)?"

　　Fisheries activists oppose the plan because it could spark negative comments about local seafood and damage the image of local fisheries.

　　The Asahi Shimbun stated that Tokyo Electric Power Company is expected to discharge up to 500 tons of nuclear sewage every day, but even so, it will take at least 30 years to empty all storage tanks.

　　"As residents, we also have our own distress." The chairman said: "We have to endure this situation for 30 or 40 years."

　　Facing protests from fishing industry figures, Nishimura said the Japanese government "has no choice but to explain the plan over and over again."

　　According to a report by Japan's Kyodo News Agency, fishery people pointed out that the necessity and safety of draining the sea are very low in areas outside Fukushima Prefecture.

Nishimura responded, "We will work harder to gain broad understanding across the country" and "will try to release the message in an easy-to-understand manner."

　　Although the Japan Nuclear Regulatory Agency has concluded that there is "no safety issue" in the discharge of nuclear-treated water into the sea.

However, TEPCO was unable to stop the damaged reactor from contaminating groundwater and rainwater, the Asahi Shimbun reported.

　　It is reported that the company tried to build a 1.5-kilometer-long frozen earth wall around the reactor buildings No. 1 to No. 4 to stop the flow of groundwater, but the frozen earth wall has a series of problems, including refrigerant leaking from the pipes.

　　"It is difficult to reduce the amount of polluted water to zero at the moment," said a TEPCO official.

　　Locals said that although the sea drainage plan will have a negative impact on the livelihood of local people for decades to come, the actions of the government make people feel that the opinions of the people no longer matter.

　　In April 2021, the Japanese government formally decided to filter and dilute the Fukushima nuclear sewage and discharge it into the sea. However, this decision was widely questioned and opposed by the international community, and it also aroused strong concerns in Japan.

In January, the Japanese government said it would start discharging nuclear sewage into the ocean "in the spring and summer of this year."