The Japanese government announced today that a leak to the Pacific Radioactive and purified water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant will be launched this Thursdaya decision that sparked protests in Japanese society and the national fishing industry, as well as in neighboring countries such as China and South Korea.

The government and the company that owns the power plant, Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), Checked the “safety” of the spill and that is why they decided to start this week with it, said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after a meeting with the ministries involved in the elimination of the consequences of a nuclear disaster.

The decision comes after visit last weekend the President to a plant in the north-east of the country to check the status of preparations and after the support of the plan by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Discharge will begin this Thursday the 24th, As planned, “unless weather or sea conditions interfere,” Kishida told reporters.

Fukushima water is made up of contaminated water during cooling of damaged reactors and melted fuel as a result of the nuclear accident triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, as well as the leakage of rainwater at the facilities over these more than a decade.

This water is stored in tanks after passing extensive processing to remove most radioactive elementsbut containers and physical storage space on site are reaching their limit.

Until the end of July they kept about 1.34 million tons of purified waterabout 98% of the maximum capacity.

Liquid treated and diluted in seawater before being discharged into the sea contains a small amount of tritium, radioactive isotope, as well as other residues of radioactive materials in concentrations considered harmless within the international safety limits for the nuclear industry, according to the IAEA.

Protests in Japan and neighboring countries

Despite this argument, the country’s fishing community, and especially the local Fukushima fishermen, demonstrated their rejection of the initiativebecause of the new blow that the spill would have on the reputation of catches in an area already aggravated by the consequences of the nuclear crisis.

“Our position against this measure has not changed, because, as we insisted, this is a discharge into the sea, which He has no understanding of the fishermen or the Japanese.” This is stated in the statement of the National Fishermen’s Federation of Japan.

“The only wish of the fishermen is be able to safely return to fishing cas before the accident, ”the federation said.

On the same Tuesday, several hundred people They gathered in front of the Japanese Diet in protest against the spill, which is expected to last several decades, in parallel with the long and difficult process of dismantling the station.

Environmental and anti-nuclear organization Greenpeace also criticized Tokyo’s decision on Tuesday. continue spilling from this Thursday, and said in a statement that the measure “ignores scientific evidence.”

“This violates the human rights of communities in Japan and the Pacific and does not comply with international maritime law. More importantly, he ignores the concerns of his people, including the fishermen,” the NGO said in a statement.