TOKYO, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Several non-profit organizations (NPOs) in Japan announced Friday the launch of a marine-protection project aimed at preventing the government's plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant to the ocean.
The NPOs, including the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center and the Japan Congress Against A- and H-Bombs, will start the project titled "Future of the Ocean" on July 17, which is recognized as "Marine Day" in Japan.
Through channels such as collecting signatures, creating websites and producing short videos, organizers hope that the project will help spread their opposition to the wastewater dumping plan both within and outside Japan, according to Masashi Tani, secretary-general of the Japan Congress Against A- and H-Bombs.
Japan's nuclear regulators on Friday formally gave the green light to facilities for discharging nuclear-contaminated water after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published its final comprehensive safety review report on Tuesday, claiming that the plan "is in conformity with the agreed international standards."
Project organizers expressed doubts over claims that the amount of tritium released is less than what other countries' nuclear power plants emit, arguing that the regular discharge of water from operational nuclear power plants is fundamentally different from the contaminated water as the latter has come into contact with melted reactor cores and contains various radioactive elements.
Despite strong opposition both at home and abroad, Japan's government is preparing to begin to carry out its wastewater dumping plan as early as August, multiple local media outlets reported.
Masashi Tani stated that even if the government proceeds with the discharge into the sea, it will continue for several decades.
"It shouldn't be assumed that once the discharge starts, there is no other option and giving up is the only choice," he said, stressing the importance of cultivating the "Future of the Ocean" project as a long-term movement against the discharge, rather than a temporary activity.
"It is our responsibility as the current generation to leave a clean ocean for the future," he stressed.
