TOKYO: More than 100 fishermen and local residents living near Fukushima will file a lawsuit this week to try to stop the discharge of wastewater from Japan’s stricken nuclear power plant, they said Monday.
Twelve years after one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents, Japan began releasing treated cooling water diluted with seawater into the Pacific on August 24, insisting it was safe.
Many Japanese fishermen opposed the release, fearing it would undo years of efforts to improve the industry’s image after the 2011 disaster.
More than 100 plaintiffs in Fukushima and neighboring prefectures will file a lawsuit at the Fukushima District Court on Friday, Sugie Tanji, a member of the group’s secretariat, told news agency.
“The government has failed to keep its promise to obtain consent from the fishermen before taking such a release decision,” she said.
“This is bad policy because it ignores the strong opposition not only from the Fukushima fishing cooperative, but also from cooperatives across the country,” the group said in a statement.
“Discharge into the ocean can never be tolerated because it brings further suffering to the victims of a nuclear accident,” he added.
The release of the water has drawn fierce opposition from China, including a blanket ban on Japanese seafood imports.
Japanese government offices and businesses were also bombarded with thousands of harassing calls from Chinese phone numbers.
The Tokyo city government alone received 34,300 calls from August 24 to 31.
Japanese government officials have sought to reassure the public that fish and other products from Fukushima are safe to eat.
