TOKYO, August 28. /TASS/. At least 67% of Japanese people understand the government's decision to discharge radioactive water from the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant into the sea, according to an opinion poll conducted by the Nikkei newspaper on August 25-27 among 850 respondents.

In comparison with the poll conducted a month ago, this indicator increased by 9%. At the same time, 25% of respondents said that they did not understand why the Japanese authorities took such a step. The level of support for the government led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida increased by 2% and amounted to 42%. The number of those who evaluate the cabinet's policies negatively dropped by 1% to 50%.

On August 24, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) began discharging the first batch of radioactively treated water from the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant into the sea. Two days later, TEPCO announced that it had found no tritium in water samples taken from 10 different areas within a 3-kilometer radius of the discharge site. The Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency found no traces of tritium in fish caught within 5 kilometers of the discharge site.

About Tokyo’s decision to start discharging water

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said earlier that the discharge of water that was used to cool the reactors at the plant would begin on August 24, barring any obstacles in terms of the weather or sea conditions. According to the Kyodo news agency, in the 2023 fiscal year (ending on March 31, 2024) as much as 31.2 metric tons of wastewater will be released into the ocean. The overall concentration of tritium in it would be about 5 trillion becquerels.

In March 2011, a tsunami caused damage to power supply and cooling systems at the Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant, which caused a nuclear fuel meltdown in three reactors, accompanied by explosions and the emission of radiation into the atmosphere. Vast territories were contaminated, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. The reactors used water for cooling, and storing this water has become problematic due to its large volume — over 1.25 million tons. In April, 2021, the Japanese government authorized the discharge of a large amount of this water, which is said to be mostly cleared of radioactive substances, but still contains tritium, a radioactive hydrogen isotope.

TEPCO underscored that the tritium content in the water is being brought to one fortieth of the minimum allowable standard set by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and the government of Japan, and one seventh of the level allowed by the World Health Organization for drinking water. Despite this, Tokyo’s plans have drawn sharp criticism from a number of countries, mainly Russia and China. On August 24, China's General Administration of Customs completely halted seafood imports from Japan. Japan plans to discharge the water in stages over a 30-year period. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) intends to monitor the process on a continuous basis. In the past few years, IAEA specialists have carried out several inspections at the nuclear facility.