US imports Fukushima seafood to feed soldiers

In an interview with Reuters on October 30, US Ambassador to Tokyo Rahm Emmanuel said the US government has agreed to buy Japanese seafood for its military to help minimize economic damage from the decision to discharge radioactive waste from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

The US armed forces will sign long-term contracts with Japanese seafood suppliers to help the country avoid losses from China's import ban. Ambassador Emmanuel added that Japanese fish, scallops and other food will be served on US Navy ships and stocked in warehouses and dining rooms at 17 US military bases in the region.

Ambassador Emmanuel admitted that providing Japanese seafood to US soldiers would not fully compensate for Japan's loss of the large Chinese market, but it would be a strong statement in the face of "economic pressure" from Beijing.

China, once Japan’s largest fish importer, banned all seafood imports from Japan in August, citing concerns about possible radioactive contamination. Beijing criticized the Japanese government’s decision to start dumping Fukushima wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, calling the move “selfish and irresponsible.” Russia made a similar move in early October.

For its part, the Japanese government has repeatedly defended the wastewater discharge plan as safe. According to Kyodo news agency, since August, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, has discharged about 15,600 tons of water treated with a filtration system to remove radioactive isotopes, except tritium. The remaining tritium was then diluted to a ratio of 1:40, the concentration allowed by Japanese safety standards. Experts say the amount of tritium in the environment will be extremely small due to mixing with seawater. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has supported the plan.