(International Observation) On the 13th anniversary of Japan’s “3·11” earthquake, sewage discharged into the sea has once again cast a shadow on Fukushima

　　China News Service, Tokyo, March 11: Title: On the 13th anniversary of Japan’s “3·11” earthquake, sewage discharged into the sea has once again cast a shadow on Fukushima

　　China News Service reporter Zhu Chenxi

　　March 11 this year is the 13th anniversary of Japan’s “3.11” devastating earthquake disaster.

　　Affected by the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, about 30,000 people in Japan are still living as a refuge without being able to return home.

At the same time, the Japanese government ignored domestic and foreign opposition calls and insisted on launching the Fukushima nuclear contaminated water discharge plan on August 24 last year.

During the process of discharging nuclear contaminated water into the sea, Tokyo Electric Power Company continued to have accidents, casting a shadow over Fukushima again.

On March 10, local time, Japanese people held a rally near Oji Station in Kita-ku, Tokyo, to oppose the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea.

Photo by China News Service reporter Zhu Chenxi

　　Removal of the nuclear residue is still far away

　　On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake occurred in the northeastern waters of Japan and triggered a tsunami. Due to the dual impact of the earthquake and tsunami, a large amount of radioactive material leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

According to data from the Japan Agency for Reconstruction and Reconstruction, as of February 1 this year, about 29,000 people in Japan were still unable to return home and were living a life of evacuation.

Currently, approximately 310 square kilometers of area in Fukushima has been listed by the government as an "area with difficulty in returning home."

　　The melted fuel rods and other materials in the Fukushima nuclear accident resulted in as much as 880 tons of nuclear residue. Removing these nuclear residues is a key step in the scrapping of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

As early as 2021, the Japanese government proposed to carry out the work of removing nuclear residue, but so far there has been no real progress.

Currently, the removal of nuclear residue has been postponed three times and will be postponed until the end of October 2024.

According to Japanese media reports, even if the work of removing nuclear residue begins, only a few grams can be removed at a time.

At this speed, removing 880 tons of nuclear residue will be a long process.

　　In addition, the issue of disposal of treated nuclear-contaminated soil in Fukushima Prefecture still needs to be resolved.

According to Japan's "Asahi Shimbun" report, the decontaminated soil from the Fukushima nuclear accident totals approximately 14 million cubic meters, which is currently being kept in a transitional storage facility and will be transported outside Fukushima Prefecture for final disposal in 2045 at the latest.

The Japanese government had previously considered transporting decontaminated soil from the nuclear accident to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in Tokyo, Tokorozawa City in Saitama Prefecture and other places for reuse, but had to give up due to strong local opposition.

At present, Japan has not determined the specific disposal plan for these soils.

　　Nuclear contaminated water discharge into the sea accidents continue

　　On August 24 last year, Japan launched a plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, despite strong opposition at home and abroad.

TEPCO said the sea discharge plan will last at least 30 years.

This has once again made the Fukushima fishery, which was already suffering a blow due to the nuclear accident, "aggravated".

　　TEPCO has had a series of accidents during its discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the sea.

In October last year, a radioactive waste sputtering incident occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Five operators working on nuclear-contaminated water treatment were splashed by radioactive waste, and two of them were rushed to the hospital.

　　On February 7 this year, a leak occurred in the nuclear contaminated water purification device of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. TEPCO estimated that a total of about 5.5 tons of nuclear contaminated water containing 22 billion becquerels of radioactive material leaked that day.

Since then, TEPCO has revised the total amount of nuclear contaminated water leaked to 1.5 tons, and revised the previously estimated total amount of radioactive materials to 6.6 billion becquerels.

Local TV stations in Fukushima reported that the nuclear contaminated water purification device was undergoing maintenance when the leak occurred, and 10 of the 16 valves that should have been closed were open.

Tetsu Nozaki, president of the Fukushima Prefecture Fisheries Cooperative Federation, said that such an accident will raise concerns about marine pollution and hopes that TEPCO will operate prudently.

　　Japanese people oppose discharging sewage into the sea

　　On March 10, Japanese people held a rally near Oji Station in Kita-ku, Tokyo, holding up banners or placards that read "Do not discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea" to oppose the plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea.

The organizer of the rally stated that there is still no clear roadmap and timetable for the decommissioning of the nuclear power units of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The Japanese government and TEPCO are forcing the discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the sea on the grounds of promoting the decommissioning of the nuclear power units of the nuclear power plant, which is simply untenable. foot.

　　As for the name of the nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the Japanese government took great pains to package it as "treated water" to confuse the public.

Inui Kimiko, a citizen who participated in the rally, told reporters that calling nuclear contaminated water "treated water" is self-deception.

However, the Japanese government and TEPCO insist on claiming the so-called "safety" of discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, which she cannot tolerate.

　　In response to the forced discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, 363 Japanese people took up legal weapons and took the Japanese government and TEPCO to court through a class action lawsuit.

On March 4, some people participated in the first court argument as plaintiffs in the Fukushima District Court.

　　Japanese lawyer Kaito Yuichi, one of the initiators of the lawsuit, told the media that although the litigation process may last several years or even longer, the plaintiffs hope to gain long-term attention from Japan and the international community.

Regarding the demands of this lawsuit, a member of the plaintiff team said, "No matter what, the Japanese government and TEPCO must first stop discharging nuclear-contaminated water." (End)