Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, meets with Masanobu Sakamoto, head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, on Aug. 21 at the prime minister's office. (Koichi Ueda)

The government on Aug. 24 may start releasing treated radioactive water into the ocean from the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant despite failing to gain the “full understanding” of those most affected.

“The government will take responsibility to deal with negative publicity and concerns among fishermen about whether their livelihoods can continue as before, even if the process takes decades until the discharge of the treated water is completed,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at an Aug. 22 meeting where the plan received formal approval.

Other Cabinet ministers who attended the meeting included Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, Yasutoshi Nishimura, the economy minister, and Hiromichi Watanabe, the restoration minister.

The fishing industry in the Tohoku region where the nuclear plant is located had been strongly against the plan. But its opposition weakened somewhat following scientific studies about the safety of the discharged water as well as the establishment of a fund of about 80 billion yen ($548 million) to deal with negative publicity.

“We have taken every step to ensure a safety net is in place,” Kishida said. “I want the relevant ministries to continue implementing measures while staying on the side of the fishermen.”

Kishida on Aug. 21 met with Masanobu Sakamoto, head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations (Zengyoren), as well as executives of prefectural fisheries cooperative associations in Fukushima, Miyagi and three other prefectures that will be most affected by the water discharge.

Sakamoto expressed some understanding for the International Atomic Energy Agency’s recent assessment that the water discharge would have a negligible effect on people and the environment.

But he said, “Scientific safety is different from social peace of mind.”

The fishing industry in the Tohoku region has struggled with polluted waters and false rumors since the triple meltdown at the nuclear plant in March 2011.

Fishermen who have since resumed operations raised serious concerns that the water release plan could rekindle the spread of false information and drive consumers away from their marine products.

Sakamoto asked Kishida for appropriate budgetary measures to deal with the negative publicity.

Rain and groundwater continue to enter damaged reactor buildings at the nuclear plant and become contaminated.

The water must be treated, but storage space is running out, and the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant’s operator, said they have no choice but to release the water into the ocean.

In 2015, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and TEPCO submitted a document to the Fukushima prefectural fisheries association that said the discharge of treated water would not begin without the understanding of relevant parties.

After his meeting with Kishida, Sakamoto told reporters, “While the promise has not been broken, it also has not been carried out to the fullest.”

He added: “Our desire is to be able to continue fishing with peace of mind. I hope the central government keeps that in mind.”

Sources close to Kishida said the government decided to discharge the water in August so that it could monitor the surrounding seawater and release results showing the safety of the measure.

The fishing season off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture is scheduled to begin on Sept. 1.

(Shohei Sasagawa contributed to this article.)

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