THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
August 24, 2023 at 18:26 JST
Lawyer Tsugio Hirota, left, and residents of Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, attend a news conference on Aug. 23 about a planned lawsuit to stop the discharge of treated water into the ocean. (Noriyoshi Ohtsuki)
Fishermen and residents of Fukushima Prefecture are preparing a lawsuit to demand that Tokyo Electric Power Co. and the government stop releasing treated radioactive water into the ocean.
The lawsuit will be filed on Sept. 8 at the Fukushima District Court, with about 100 people expected to sign on as plaintiffs, lawyers for the plaintiffs said at a news conference on Aug. 23.
“The government and TEPCO are attempting to apply double the damage on plaintiffs, having already been grossly negligent in causing (the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant) and now with the water discharge into the ocean,” Hiroyuki Kawai, one of the lawyers, said.
Water contaminated by radioactive elements at the plant is being treated before being released, and the government and the utility say the water meets safety standards.
But the lawyers plan to argue that the safety of the water-discharge plan has not been secured.
Moreover, they will focus on a document submitted in 2015 by the central government and TEPCO to the Fukushima prefectural fisheries association that said the discharge of treated water would not begin without the understanding of relevant parties.
The lawyers plan to argue that the decision to go ahead with the water release, which started on Aug. 24, violates the terms in the document. The plaintiffs will say the government and TEPCO are obligated to pick an alternative option that has less of a burden on the environment.
Fukushima fishermen face the prospect of not being able to sell their catches after the water-discharge begins, and local residents worry that eating the seafood could affect their health, the lawyers said.
While calling on TEPCO to suspend the water discharge, the plaintiffs will ask the court to rescind approval given by the Nuclear Regulation Authority in May and July to allow for the project to proceed.
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