Japan’s authorities prove through actions, not words, that seafood caught in proximity to the Fukushima nuclear power plant is safe for health. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Economy and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura were among the first who ate sashimi fished off the coast of Fukushima. The Premier and three cabinet ministers agreed to be filmed during lunch to dispel safety concerns following the release of processed radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant.
Japan began the decades-long operation of releasing water used to cool down damaged reactors of the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant. This event sparked outrage both inside the country and beyond its borders. Protesters arranged massive rallies and demanded that Japan’s government not greenlight the release of wastewater and keep it in tanks. Nevertheless, the authorities insist that such water will not contaminate the environment. The cabinet pledged to protect the local fishery industry and present support measures later in the week, the Prime Minister said to the NHK TV channel. "Please everyone show your support for Japan’s safe and delicious seafood items including those from Sanriku Joban," the policymaker said to the camera. "We eat in support of the Sanriku Joban region. All seafood items from Sanriku Joban are full of appeal," Kishida told reporters who were invited to film the lunch.
China condemned the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima plant and immediately banned imports of all seafood from Japan. South Korea also joined the embargo and banned seafood imports from 8 prefectures in Japan and 27 agricultural products from 15 prefectures. Experts from Auckland University accused China of hypocrisy because the ban does not mean the intention to care for the population’s health. In this case, Beijing took advantage of the incident to fuel anti-Japan public sentiment.
