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February 22, 2023
The Japanese government has released a draft of the joint statement that will be compiled by Japan, the chairing country of the G7 climate, energy, and environment ministers, at their meeting in Sapporo in April. Japan is coordinating with other countries to include a statement that “welcomes the transparent process for the release” of treated water from the TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and “welcomes the progress” of a plan to reuse decontaminated soil. Both of these statements are considered to be aimed at gaining the support of major countries, despite the fact that there is a strong sense of caution in Japan regarding these issues.
The contents of these plans were explained to representatives of each country at working-level meetings held in Tokyo from January 1 to 3. A government official said, “If we can unite in the G7, we can appeal the safety of the G7. However, there are doubts about including issues specific to Japan in the joint statement, and some countries, such as Germany, are cautious about nuclear power, so another official said, “It remains to be seen if we can go so far as to include a ‘welcome’ message. So far, the G7 joint statement has never included language encouraging the release of treated water or the reuse of decontaminated soil.
Contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is generated in the process of cooling melted-down nuclear fuel. The water is being purified and stored in tanks on the plant grounds, but according to TEPCO, the tanks are expected to be full by this summer or fall. TEPCO is using a multinuclide removal system (ALPS) to reduce the concentration of 62 types of radioactive materials to below the national standard, and tritium, which cannot be removed by ALPS, will be diluted to less than 1/40th of the legal standard. The company plans to discharge the treated water one kilometer offshore from the plant, and plans to begin the discharge around spring or summer of this year.
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASR2P6222R28ULBH005.html?iref=pc_photo_gallery_bottom
