"53% of Japanese Support Contaminated Water Discharge... Kishida Cabinet Approval Rating at 28%"

Public Opinion Survey by Jiji Press of 2,000 People Aged 18 and Over

More than half of the Japanese public supports the Japanese government's ocean discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which began on the 24th of last month.

According to a poll conducted by Jiji Press from the 8th to the 11th, interviewing 2,000 citizens aged 18 and older nationwide through individual interviews, 52.9% supported the ocean discharge, more than three times the 16.3% who opposed it, the agency reported on the 14th.

Those who responded "cannot say either way" or "don't know" accounted for 30.8%.

Compared to a poll conducted by Jiji Press in July before the discharge, where support was 39.2% and opposition was 28.0%, support has increased while opposition has decreased.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) opened the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant's contaminated water (referred to as "treated water" by the Japanese government) facilities to foreign journalists on the 2nd. Tanks storing contaminated water, which has passed through the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) and is being measured for radioactive concentration before discharge.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

A public broadcaster NHK's poll conducted from the 8th to the 10th of this month also showed that 66% of respondents considered the ocean discharge of contaminated water "appropriate," significantly outnumbering the 17% who said it was "inappropriate."

Support for the Kishida Fumio Cabinet rose by 1.4 percentage points from the previous month to 28.0%.

Although the approval rating reversed to an increase after four months, it remained in the 20% range, considered a "danger zone" for regime maintenance.

This survey was conducted before the cabinet reshuffle on the 13th, so evaluations of the reshuffle were not reflected.