In August 2023 Japan released treated radioactive water into the sea from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant. The local fisherman and some neighboring countries are against it. This action also drew strong criticsm from China which was followed by seafood imports being banned. However, japan has treated the water by removing most radioactive elements except for tritium which is difficult to separate from water. The government of prime minister Fumio kishida allowed the release of about 1.3 million tons onto the sea.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) said that seawater near the nuclear plant contained less than 10 becquerels of tritium per liter, far below the World Health Organization's limit of 10.000 becquerels for drinking water. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio kishida and three Cabinet ministers showed that fish is safe following the release of treated radioactive water by eating Fukushima fish sashimi at a lunch meeting. Moreover, a Fisheries Agency official announced that no impact was expected from the release.

References

• https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pasific/japan-pm-kishida-says-he-spoke-with-china-premier-li-asean-sidelines-2023-09-06/
• https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pasific/japan-aims-restore-fish-catch-2010-level-no-fukushima-water-impact-seen-2023-08-31/
• https://apnews.com/article/japan-fukushima-nuclear-wastewater-fish-fcb7498f38676192cce7e404277fc976