Japan urged against discharging Fukushima water to Pacific

After the protest, a meeting at the Members' Office Building of the House of Councillors discussed problems and concerns related to Japan's plan to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Yuuko Yatabe, a member of KOREUMI, a Japanese citizens' conference against further pollution of the ocean, handed over a petition to representatives of the Japanese government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company, urging the government to uphold the written commitments with the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations and others, and to explore alternative options which would have less impact on the environment and stakeholders, and swiftly disclose all information about the issue.

"We strongly request the government to halt the unilateral ocean discharge without the understanding and agreement of concerned parties, and to explore alternative options. We demand a sincere response by Aug 31," the petition said.