Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was seen eating sashimi, comprising flatfish, sea bass, and octopus caught off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, in an attempt to dispel concerns about the potential impact of treated radioactive water discharged from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.
Footage filmed in prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo on Wednesday shows the leader dining with Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura, Minister of State for Children’s Policy Masanobu Ogura and Minister of Finance Shunichi Suzuki.
« The seafood of Sanriku Johban is full of charm. We too enjoyed it just right away. It is currently holding a campaign in support of Sanriku Johban products. You can enjoy the season’s best ingredients at ekiben (boxed meals) and online shopping. We hope you will also support safe and delicious Japanese seafood, » Kishida said.
Tokyo began the release of more than one million metric tons of the water used to cool Fukushima’s damaged reactors, starting with 7,800 cubic metres over 17 days from Thursday, August 24.
China announced a ban on seafood imports from Japan to ‘prevent the risk of radioactive contamination of food’, accusing Tokyo of being ‘extremely selfish and irresponsible’. There have also been concerns from the fishing community.
An inquiry by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found that the Japanese proposal to release the water was ‘consistent’ with international safety standards and would have a ‘negligible’ impact on people and the environment.
An estimated 1.33 million tonnes needed to cool the cores of nuclear reactors that went into meltdown in 2011 are stored on-site and were expected to reach maximum capacity imminently.
