英语新闻丨Japan's move sparks furor

Japanese protesters are continuing to urge the government to halt the release of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean, which began on Thursday.

日本抗议者继续敦促政府停止从周四（2023年8月24日）开始的福岛第一核电站将核污水排海。

Citizens' groups held a protest rally near the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo again on Friday, strongly opposing the government's go-ahead for the Tokyo Electric Power Company to begin releasing contaminated water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.

周五（8月25日），日本多个市民团体再次在东京的首相官邸附近发起抗议集会，强烈反对日本政府和东京电力公司强行启动福岛核污染水排海。

Protesters said the government had chosen the least expensive and easiest method of disposing of Fukushima's radioactive water, ignoring strong opposition from Fukushima residents and the Japanese public. This also disregards international legal obligations, they said.

集会民众表示，日本政府选择最省钱最省事的排海方式处置福岛核污染水，不仅是对福岛当地居民和日本民众的强烈反对意见的漠视，也置相关国际法义务于不顾。

Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party and a member of the House of Councilors, the upper house of the National Diet, said at the rally that the Japanese government's decision allows the discharge of radioactive substances into natural environments and such a move is an "atrocity".

日本社民党党首、参议院议员福岛瑞穗在集会上指出，日本政府向海洋等自然环境排放放射性物质，是一种“暴行”。

A lot of political manipulation is behind the move, she said.

她说，此举背后充满政治操弄。

Similar protests were staged by civic groups in other Japanese cities. Among their appeals was one saying, "Don't spread any more poison in the sea."

日本其他城市的市民团体也举行了类似的抗议活动。在他们的呼吁中有一句话说：“不要再在海里传播毒药了。”

Hirofumi Kokubun, secretary-general of the Iwate Prefectural Association for a Peaceful, Democratic and Progressive Japan, emphasized that the release of contaminated water is a unilateral breach of promises made to fishers and the public, and constitutes a reckless act that undermines democracy.

岩手县和平、民主和进步日本协会秘书长光久博（Kokubun）强调，排放核污染水是单方面违反对渔民和公众作出的承诺，是破坏民主的鲁莽行为。

Kyoko Yoshida, vice-chairman of the Japanese Communist Party's Iwate Prefectural Committee, said policymakers should not be allowed to ignore the lessons of the nuclear accident and to give priority to the profits of the Tokyo Electric Power Company over the safety of citizens.

日本共产党岩手县委员会副主席吉田恭子说，不应该允许政策制定者忽视核事故的教训，将东京电力公司的利润置于公民安全之上。

Citing concerns over food safety and pollution of the ocean, China suspended the imports of all aquatic products originating from Japan from Thursday.

基于对食品安全和海洋污染的担忧，中国从周四（8月24日）起暂停进口所有来自日本的水产品。

Mami Moriya, a teacher of children with intellectual disabilities, said: "When it comes to potential dangers like this, there's no such thing as being too cautious. So if people from other countries say they don't want to import Japanese seafood products, that's understandable. It's only natural for other countries to give priority to the health and safety of their own people."

马米·莫里亚是一名智力残疾儿童教师，她说：“当谈到这样的潜在危险时，再谨慎都不为过。所以，如果来自其他国家的人说他们不想进口日本的海鲜产品，这是可以理解的。其他国家优先考虑自己人民的健康和安全是很正常的事。”

Tokyo Electric Power Company has been unable to accurately determine the amount of radioactive substances to be discharged. Beginning the ocean discharge is thus certain to damage the natural environment, disrupt the livelihoods of fishers and threaten food safety for the public, Moriya said.

东京电力公司一直无法准确地确定要排放的放射性物质的数量。莫里亚说，因此，开始进行海洋排放肯定会破坏自然环境，破坏渔民的生计，并威胁到公众的食品安全。

She urged the government and the power company to pass on accurate data related to nuclear-contaminated water to other countries because, she said, the ocean discharge affects the future of all life on Earth.

她敦促政府和电力公司将与受核污染的水有关的准确数据传递给其他国家，她说，海洋排放会影响到地球上所有生命的未来。

Masashi Tani, secretary-general of the Japan Congress Against A-and H-Bombs (Gensuikin), said: "After the government and the company accurately disclose the information, judging whether the ocean discharge is safe or not is up to us. It's not for the business promotion side to say whether it's safe or not."

日本反原子弹弹和氢弹大会（Gensuikin）秘书长谷正志（Masashi Tani）说：“政府和公司准确披露信息后，判断海洋排放是否安全由我们决定。这不是由商业营销来决定它是否安全。”

Voicing worries

担忧的声音

Kinzaburo Shiga, a third-generation fisherman in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, said he has been in the fishing industry for more than 50 years and is worried about whether the younger generation will be able to continue fishing. Shiga said he is preparing for the lifting of a ban from Sept 1 on bottom trawling, a method of fishing that involves dragging heavy nets across the seafloor, and feels anxious about this season's fishing, which will continue until the end of June, the newspaper Fukushima Minpo reported.

福岛县岩木的第三代渔民志贺金三郎（Kinzaburo Shiga）说，他从事渔业已经有50多年了，他担心年轻一代能否继续捕鱼。据《福岛民报》报道，志贺表示，他正为9月1日起解除海底拖网捕鱼禁令做准备，这种捕鱼方式包括拖着沉重的网穿过海底，同时他对本季的捕鱼感到焦虑，其将持续到6月底。

The decision to proceed with the ocean discharge will have a substantial negative impact on Japanese products, primarily in fisheries, agriculture and forestry, thus dealing an economic blow to Japan. Simultaneously, the release of nuclear-contaminated water may also affect inbound tourism to the country, said Zhang Yulai, vice-president of the Japan Institute of Nankai University in Tianjin.

继续进行海洋排放的决定将对日本产品产生重大的负面影响，主要是在渔业、农业和林业方面，从而对日本造成经济打击。同时，位于天津的南开大学日本研究院副院长张玉来说，核污染水的排放也可能影响到中国的入境旅游。

"Japan should be prepared to face various challenges and may even bear a heavy cost. Undoubtedly, the dumping of contaminated water will also severely affect its international image," Zhang said.

“日本应该做好面对各种挑战的准备，甚至可能承担沉重的代价。毫无疑问，倾倒受污染的水也会严重影响其国际形象。”张玉来说道。

Li Ruoyu, a visiting research fellow with the Institute of Japanese and Korean Studies at Sichuan Normal University in Chengdu, said: "As a researcher of Japanese issues, what concerns me the most is the risk of the Japanese government's categorization of all questioning of the ocean discharge as politically unfriendly toward Japan. While such an approach may cater to domestic nationalist sentiments in Japan, it hinders the resolution of the issue and fails to effectively mitigate potential contamination risks."

李若愚，一名四川师范大学日韩研究院的访问研究员，说：“作为一名研究日本问题的研究员，我最担心的是日本政府将所有关于海洋排放的质疑归类为对日本的政治不友好。虽然这种做法可能会迎合日本国内的民族主义情绪，但它阻碍了这个问题的解决，也不能有效地减轻潜在的污染风险。”

Reporter: Jiang Xueqing

Intern: Zang Tianyi

Nuclear

英/'njuːklɪə/美/'nuklɪɚ/

n.（原子）核的﹔核能的