TOKYO: Japan’s new prime minister on Sunday said the planned mass disposal of wastewater stored at the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant cannot be delayed, despite concerns from local residents.
Speaking at his first visit to the facility since taking office, Fumio Kishida said his government would work to reassure residents nearby the plant about the technical safety of the wastewater disposal project.
The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered a triple meltdown in 2011 following a massive earthquake and tsunami.
Kishida’s brief tour of the facility by its operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, focused on the ongoing decommissioning of the plant, and the massive amount of treated but still radioactive water stored there.
“I felt strongly that the water issue is a crucial one that should not be pushed back,” Kishida told reporters after the tour.
The government and TEPCO announced plans in April to start releasing the water into the Pacific Ocean in the spring of 2023 over the span of decades.
The plan has been fiercely opposed by fishermen, residents and Japan’s neighbors, including including China and South Korea.
Contaminated cooling water has continued to leak from the damaged reactors since the disaster. The water has been pumped up from basements and stored in about 1,000 tanks which the operator says will reach their capacity late next year.
Japanese officials say disposal of the water is indispensable for the plant cleanup, and that its release into the ocean is the most realistic option.
Kishida said the government will do its utmost to address concerns the water disposal will hurt local fishing and other industries.
“We will provide explanation about the safety (of the disposal) from a scientific viewpoint and transparency in order to dispel various concerns,” Kishida said.
Japan has requested assistance by the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure the discharge meets global safety standards.
Japan PM says Fukushima wastewater release cannot be delayed
Japan PM says Fukushima wastewater release cannot be delayed
- The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered a triple meltdown in 2011 following a massive earthquake and tsunami
- The government and TEPCO announced plans in April to start releasing the water into the Pacific Ocean in the spring of 2023 over the span of decades
Extremists kill 25 workers in northeastern Nigeria
- Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown terrorists, took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose radical laws
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria: Armed extremists in northeastern Nigeria killed dozens of people earlier this week in separate attacks targeting a construction site and a military installation, security officials said on Saturday.
Gunmen killed at least 25 construction workers during an ambush on Thursday in the town of Sabon Gari in Borno State, said a senior officer of the Borno State Police Command. Authorities in Nigeria often decline to publicly confirm death tolls in attacks, citing security concerns.
“It is a devastating loss, and the hallmarks point directly to Boko Haram insurgents who have long resisted developmental projects in these areas,” the police official said.
Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown terrorists, took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose radical laws.
The insurgency now includes an offshoot of the Daesh group, known as ISWAP. It has spilled into Nigeria’s northern neighbors, including Niger, killing about 35,000 civilians and displacing more than 2 million people, according to the UN.
Abdurrahman Buni, a senior officer of the Civilian Joint Task Force, a volunteer vigilante group helping the military fight extremist groups and armed gangs, confirmed that at least 25 construction workers were killed during the Thursday attack.
Buni and the police officer said extremist fighters, backed by armed drones, had raided an army base in a separate attack in the same town hours earlier. The police officer said the dead were nine soldiers and two members of a civilian task force, while about 16 injured security personnel were evacuated for medical treatment following the heavy gunfire.
He said it was unclear if the base attack was carried out by Boko Haram or the rival ISWAP, both of which are active in the region.
Nigeria is in the grip of a complex security crisis, with an insurgency by militants in the northeast alongside a surge in kidnappings for ransom by gunmen across the northwest and north-central regions over the recent months.
Last month, the US launched airstrikes in northern Nigeria, targeting terrorists.
