Japan defends neutrality of IAEA report on Fukushima water release plan as minister visits plant

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's industry minister visited the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant on Monday to see equipment that would be used in the planned release into the sea of treated radioactive water to ensure the safety of the controversial plan, while demonstrators, including many from South Korea, rallied against it.

The Japanese government defended the neutrality of the United Nations nuclear agency’s final report that concluded Japan’s water release plan met international safety standards, denying allegations that Japan pressured the International Atomic Energy Agency into publishing only favorable results.

Economy and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura visited the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Monday morning to see key equipment, including an emergency shutdown system, days after the Japanese regulatory authority granted a permit for the operator and the IAEA said the environmental impact from the water release would be negligible.

The government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, have struggled with how to manage the massive amount of contaminated water that comes out of the melted reactors before it is filtered and stored in tanks. They want to release the water into the Pacific Ocean after further treatment and dilution with seawater, making it safer than international levels.

The government and TEPCO say the water must be removed to prevent any accidental leaks and make room for the plant’s decommissioning, and hope to start releasing the water this summer.

The plan is opposed by the Japanese fishing community, which worries about reputational damage, and groups in South Korea and China have also raised concerns.

On Monday, dozens of protesters, including South Korean lawmakers and activists, rallied outside the Prime Minister's Office, holding banners saying “Do not dump radioactive contaminated water into the sea.”

Japan has sought support from the IAEA to increase transparency and ensure the plan meets international safety standards, in hopes of gaining credibility for the controversial plan.

Some opponents at home and neighboring South Korea have accused Japan, one of the top donors to the IAEA, of pressuring the agency into publishing only positive reviews in its report.

Japanese officials have said such accusations are groundless. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference that IAEA, like other international organizations, is funded by contributions from member nations and that it is only natural that its staff includes Japanese nationals. Matsuno said Japan accounts for 7.7% of the IAEA budget — half that of China.

“The claim that cites Japanese funding and staffing at the IAEA to question the neutrality of the IAEA final report is not only completely missing the target but also shakes the significance of the existence of international organizations,” Matsuno said. “The government of Japan considers the report to be independent and neutral.”

Nishimura told reporters Friday that the government will determine when to start the water release “by ensuring the safety and taking into consideration the progress of measures against reputational damage.”

He said the government will discuss the safety measures and address concerns about reputational damage with fishing groups and other residents in the region. He vowed to respond to their concerns and requests.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, who was in Japan last week to submit his agency's final report to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and visit the plant, said the environmental and health impacts from the water release would be negligible under the plan, that radioactivity in the water would be almost undetectable and that the impact wouldn't cross borders.

A massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi plant’s cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and contaminating their cooling water, which has leaked continuously. The water is collected, treated and stored in about 1,000 tanks, which will reach their capacity in early 2024.