Arab News Japan

TOKYO: On the 14th anniversary of the March 11, 2011, 9.0 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown in northern Japan, the Japan-based Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center says the government is “ignoring the voices of opposition” to the use of nuclear power plants.

The government’s Seventh Strategic Energy Plan, which sets the basic direction of the country’s energy policy, was approved earlier this year and includes nuclear power as a source of energy. Previous energy plans had included the phrase, “reduce dependency on the nuclear power as much as possible,” but this was deleted in the current plan. CNIC describes this as “a huge change of direction” and notes the policy change attracted40,000 comments from concerned citizens.

CNIC also criticized the release of treated water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, as well as the decision to recycle soil generated from decontamination work.

“Both the discharge of ALPS treated water into the ocean and the recycling of removed soil violate the principle of centralized management of radioactive materials and could expose large numbers of citizens to unnecessary risks of radiation exposure,” CNIC said.

In addition, CNIC asks where the radioactive waste – estimated at around 7.84 million tonnes – generated from the demolition of buildings, from decontamination and water treatment waste in Fukushima will be stored or disposed of.

CNIC’s statement concludes: “Rather than prioritize requests from the ‘Nuclear Village’ (factions promoting nuclear energy), what the government needs to do is provide real relief to those affected by the nuclear accident, face up to the voices of civil society, and proceed with realistic deliberations toward the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.”