Apenisa Waqairadovu 
[Source: Reuters]
Japan has confirmed it will start releasing more than 1 million metric tonnes of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant two days from now.
A report by Reuters confirms this.
It says the plan, approved two years ago by the Japanese government as crucial to decommissioning the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company , has also faced criticism from local fishing groups, who fear reputational damage and a threat to their livelihood.
It says this puts into motion a plan that has drawn strong criticism from China.
Meanwhile, here in the Pacific, there have been mixed reactions.
While Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka agrees with the science that deems it safe, other Pacific Island countries like Tuvalu are strongly against Japan’s intentions.
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he has asked Tepco to swiftly prepare for the water discharge in accordance with the plan approved by the Nuclear Regulation Authority.
Japan has said that the water release is safe. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, greenlighted the plan in July, saying that it met international standards and that the impact it would have on people and the environment was “negligible”.
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