Industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura failed to reel in a fisheries group in Fukushima Prefecture on July 11 on the safety of the government's plan to release treated contaminated water into the ocean.

Nishimura briefed the Fukushima prefectural fisheries cooperative association on a new U.N. nuclear watchdog report, which confirmed the release from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant would meet international safety standards.

At the beginning of the meeting, Nishimura said, “Safety has been thoroughly confirmed, so I will explain (the plan) to you.”

However, Tetsu Nozaki, head of the prefectural fisheries association, said, “We maintain our opposition to the release of the treated water.”

“We would like to explain our future stance to the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co., (the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant),” he added.

The meeting was then held behind closed doors.

After the meeting, Nishimura told reporters that he outlined the contents of the International Atomic Energy Agency report.

The fisheries association demanded thorough measures to prevent damage to the reputation of their marine products and support for developing sales channels for their catches, he said.

“We will respond sincerely and responsibly,” Nishimura said.

But Nozaki stressed the association's continued opposition to the water release, saying, “Our ultimate goal is the continuation of a safe and stable fishing industry.”

In 2015, the government and TEPCO told the fisheries association in writing that they “would not discharge (the treated water) without the understanding of all parties involved.”

Regarding the word “understanding,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference on July 11, “It’s difficult to determine the degree of understanding by any specific indicator.”

“We will continue to communicate with fishermen,” he said.

An official close to the prime minister said, “There will come a point when ‘there is no use in further discussions.’”

“We will decide (to release the treated water) as the government will take full responsibility if anything occurs,” the official said.

The government is intensifying its efforts to explain the water discharge it plans to begin as early as this summer both domestically and internationally. It intends to seek understanding before proceeding with the release.

This was the first time that Nishimura visited the Fukushima fisheries association after the IAEA released its final report earlier this month.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said, “Based on scientific evidence, we will provide a careful explanation with high transparency domestically and internationally.”

Nishimura’s visit signifies that the government has entered the final stage of the process toward the release.

In Fukushima Prefecture, Nishimura also said that while the government will continue to uphold its promises, it has not changed the plan to start discharging the treated water this summer.

The government intends to provide explanations to the surrounding municipalities.

SHOWS LOW TRITIUM LEVEL IN THE DATA

The release of the treated water has also become a diplomatic issue. The government aims to gain understanding from various countries based on scientific evidence.

The contaminated water will be treated with TEPCO’s Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), which can remove most radioactive substances, except for tritium.

ALPS-treated water is stored in a tank, but the storage tanks continue to occupy the grounds of the Fukushima nuclear plant and are nearing full capacity.

Subsequently, the government and TEPCO plan to release the water into the ocean after diluting the ALPS-treated water with seawater to bring the tritium concentration to 1,500 becquerels or lower per liter.

They said this is one-40th of the government's safety standard for release, or one-seventh of the World Health Organization’s standard for drinking water.

The annual tritium release is expected to be less than 22 trillion becquerels.

“The level is low compared to many nuclear-related facilities overseas,” Matsuno said.

In China, the Qinshan No. 3 nuclear plant releases 6.5 times as much tritium as the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the Yangjiang nuclear plant releases 5.1 times, and Hongyanhe nuclear plant releases 4.1 times, according to the industry ministry’s data.

In South Korea, the Wolseong nuclear plant releases 3.2 times and the Kori nuclear plant releases 2.2 times.

France’s La Hague nuclear fuel reprocessing plant releases 454.5 times, the data showed.

While presenting such data, the Japanese government has so far held 121 briefings for embassies in the country. It also plans to hold a briefing for foreign diplomats on the IAEA report within this month.

However, opposition and concerns remain strong in neighboring countries such as China and South Korea.

(This article was written by Yushin Adachi and Anri Takahashi.)