Fukushima residents are cautious after the wrecked nuclear plant began releasing treated wastewater
Fish auction prices at a port south of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are mixed amid uncertainty about how consumers may respond a day after treated and diluted radioactive wastewater began to be released into the sea
IWAKI, Japan — Fish auction prices at a port south of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were mixed amid uncertainty over how seafood consumers will respond to the release of treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the ocean.
The plant, which was damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, began sending the treated water into the Pacific on Thursday despite protests at home and in nearby countries that are adding political and diplomatic pressures to the economic worries.
Hideaki Igari, a middleman at the Numanouchi fishing port, said the price of larger flounder, Fukushima's signature fish known as Joban-mono, was more than 10% lower at the Friday morning auction, the first since the water release began. Prices of some average-size flounder rose, but presumably due to a limited catch, says Igari. Others fell.
It was a relatively calm market reaction to the water release. But, Igari said, «we still have to see how it goes next week.”
The decadeslong release has been strongly opposed by fishing groups and criticized by neighboring countries. China immediately banned imports of seafood from Japan in response, adding to worries in the fisheries community and related businesses.
In Seoul on Saturday, thousands of South Koreans took to the streets to condemn the release of wastewater and to criticize the South Korean government for endorsing the plan. The protesters called on Japan to store radioactive water in tanks instead of releasing it into the Pacific Ocean.
A citizens' radiation
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