Tokyo [Japan], August 24: Environmental groups will rally in Fiji on Friday to protest Japan's decision to release treated cooling water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed on Tuesday the country would start discharging the water into the Pacific from Thursday. Japan's nuclear regulatory authority had recently given the green light for the release. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), dumping the water does not pose any danger to humans or the environment.
On Wednesday, an alliance of environmental justice and human rights advocates called for protests "to plead for international intervention" to stop the discharge.
"We call on everyone concerned about the future of the Pacific, our generations to come, our island ecosystems and sources of livelihood to show up," the alliance said.
However, Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said he supported the IAEA report. "There are constant references to the plans for the wastewater to be 'dumped' in the Pacific. That creates the wrong impression. It is to be discharged - into Japan's own backyard, 7306 kms from Fiji," he wrote on Facebook.
Source: Qatar Tribune