"Arr! Aye, the ex-mayor o' Chicago feasts upon Fukushima's fishy bounty, despite the panic o' nuclear waters. Let's all join the feast, me hearties!"
2023-09-02
Arr, me hearties! 'Tis been heard that Japan be plannin' to lodge a grievous complaint with the World Trade Organization 'bout China's scurvy ban on all Japanese grub. They be claimin' 'tis 'cause o' the nuclear bilgewater scheme. Avast!
The U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, showed his support for the local fishing industry of Fukushima by eating seafood, despite China and South Korea protesting against the discharge of treated nuclear wastewater. Emanuel argued that this protest was just economic coercion. He criticized China for not adopting scientific rigor, international cooperation, and full transparency during the COVID crisis. Furthermore, he sarcastically suggested that if President Xi trusts the fish near China's nuclear plants, he should serve it to visiting Russian President Putin.Emanuel visited the city of Soma in Fukushima prefecture after the start of the wastewater discharge plan, which experts predict will take decades to complete. Japanese officials implemented this plan to create space for additional facilities needed to decommission the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. However, the plant is still producing wastewater as it requires constant cooling due to the presence of melted fuel debris in the reactor.
Tritium has been leaking into the Fukushima groundwater since 2013, but the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has been pumping out the contaminated groundwater annually. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his cabinet ministers consumed seafood and rice sourced from Fukushima to demonstrate the safety of food from the region.
China immediately banned all Japanese seafood imports in response to Tokyo's announcement of the wastewater discharge plan. South Koreans have also condemned the plan, and Japanese fishermen are concerned about the impact on their business. Despite the protests, Emanuel expressed U.S. support for Japan's plan and expected the U.S. to back Tokyo if it files a complaint with the World Trade Organization against China's ban on seafood imports.
Emanuel bought fish from Fukushima and stated that he would serve it to his children when they visit him. He emphasized that he wouldn't serve the fish if he believed there was a problem. The current pace of discharge will result in around 31,200 tons of treated water being dumped by March 2024, freeing up only a small fraction of the tanks at the plant.