By TOSHIO ISHIMOTO/ Staff Writer
March 20, 2023 at 17:21 JST
Tanks holding treated radioactive water cover the compound at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima Prefecture, on Jan. 19. (Shigetaka Kodama)
Fifty-one percent of respondents to a new Asahi Shimbun survey supported the government’s plan to release treated water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the ocean.
They outnumber those who opposed it, at 41 percent.
Respondents were more evenly divided in the May 2021 and February 2022 surveys than in the latest one.
The government plans to begin releasing treated and diluted water by this summer as Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the plant operator, said tanks for storing treated radioactive water within the plant’s premises are projected to be full by autumn.
Among men, 60 percent backed the discharge, surpassing the 34 percent who opposed it.
For women, 48 percent were against it, slightly higher than the 42 percent who were in favor.
The Cabinet also approved bills at the end of February that would allow nuclear power plants to operate beyond their current 60-year limit.
When asked in the survey about allowing plants to run past 60 years, respondents’ opinions were almost evenly divided, 45 percent endorsed the extension while 43 percent were opposed.
By demographics, older people were more opposed, with 52 percent of those in their 60s and 50 percent of those 70 and older giving a thumbs down.
Those in their 40s and younger were more in favor, with 53 percent of those 18 to 29 and 57 percent of those in their 30s supporting the move.
By gender, men were more in favor, at 54 percent.
The survey was conducted on March 18 and 19 by contacting fixed telephone numbers and mobile phone numbers selected at random by a computer.
Those conducting the survey received 506 valid responses, or 52 percent, from 981 fixed numbers of households with at least one eligible voter each.
There were 798 valid responses, or 37 percent, from the 2,178 mobile phone numbers of eligible voters. Valid responses totaled 1,304.
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