Japan’s PM eats fish from Fukushima after claiming no radioactivity detected in water tests

Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida and three cabinet ministers had Fukushima fish sashimi at a lunch meeting on Wednesday 30 August, in an apparent effort to dispel safety concerns following the controversial release of treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Mr Kishida and his ministers had sashimi of flounder, octopus and seabass, caught off the Fukushima coast.

The projected decades-long release of treated water has been strongly opposed by fishing groups and criticised by neighbouring countries.

China immediately banned imports of seafood from Japan in response.

Japan’s government and the plant operator say treated radioactive wastewater that has accumulated since the March 2011 accident at the nuclear plant, now totalling 134 million tons and stored in about 1,000 tanks, is taking up much of the plant area and must be removed to free up space to build facilities for the plant’s cleanup and decommissioning.