Abe’s allegation about radioactive water stuns even Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s remark that radioactive water leaks from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant have been completely blocked provoked controversy in Japan.

In his address at the General Assembly of the International Olympic Committee held on Saturday for selecting a host country of the 2020 Summer Olympics, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, “The effect of the pollution is strictly limited to the area within 0.3 kilometers from the port of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant,” exerting a significant impact on the election result.

Meanwhile, Hisashi Yoshida, a fisherman in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, said in his interview with the Tokyo Daily on Monday, “Radioactive water is getting more and more serious. I can’t agree with Prime Minister Abe’s claim that it’s safe because the country is taking care of the matter.” Hiroaki Koide, a teaching assistant at the reactor laboratory of Kyoto University, said, “I can’t understand on which basis (the prime minister) said contaminated water is under controlled. I’m totally fed up (with the government’s handling of the matter).”

The Japanese government made an official announcement on August 7 that, out of 1000 tons of underground water, 300 tons of radioactive water leaks into an intake of seawater daily. It is also suspected that part of the 300-ton radioactive water leaks from a reservoir of contaminated water also flows into the sea directly. Against this backdrop, many people criticize Prime Minister Abe for insisting that radioactive water is being completely blocked.

In the mean time, Tokyo stock market skyrocketed backed by expectations for hosting the Olympics. An average stock price of Nikkei closed at 14,205.23 yen, up 2.48 percent from last Friday.