88% of Japanese Citizens Fear Misinformation Damage Over Fukushima Contaminated Water Discharge

Nine out of ten Japanese people are concerned about reputational damage caused by rumors related to the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean.

Large amounts of radioactive contaminated water stored in tanks near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Kyodo News reported on the 20th that a telephone survey conducted over two days starting from the 19th, targeting citizens nationwide, found that 88.1% of respondents believed they would suffer damage due to rumors related to the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant.

In a previous survey conducted by Kyodo News from the 14th to the 16th of last month, 87.4% of respondents said that "reputational damage" would occur due to the discharge of contaminated water. In Japan, reputational damage refers to economic losses caused by unfounded false information.

Meanwhile, as Japan weighs the timing of the contaminated water discharge, the approval rating of the Kishida Fumio Cabinet appears to be declining. In this survey, the percentage of respondents who do not support the Kishida Fumio Cabinet reached 50.0%, marking the first time since December last year that it has entered the 50% range. The approval rating for the Kishida Fumio Cabinet was 33.6%, down 0.7 percentage points from the previous month.

Regarding the My Number Card issue, which is cited as one of the factors for the decline in cabinet approval ratings, 79.8% of respondents evaluated that Prime Minister Kishida has failed to demonstrate leadership. The Japanese government is promoting the distribution of the My Number Card, Japan's version of a resident registration card, but public dissatisfaction has grown due to repeated problems such as incorrect linkage of accounts for receiving public funds.