The city council of Hakodate, located in southern Hokkaido, Japan, adopted a statement on the 19th demanding the immediate suspension of the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean, Kyodo News reported.
The Hakodate city council passed the statement calling on the Japanese government to halt the ocean discharge by a majority vote of 14 to 12, criticizing the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) for ignoring the opposition voices of fishermen.
In the statement, the city council pointed out that the government and TEPCO broke their promise to fishermen's groups in the past that "disposal will not be carried out without the understanding of the stakeholders," and argued that measures to prevent the increase of contaminated water due to groundwater inflow should be implemented as a priority.
They also stated that the harm to fisheries caused by the discharge of contaminated water into the ocean is unacceptable.
Hokkaido is the main production area of scallops, a major seafood export item of Japan, and is a region greatly affected by China's complete import ban on Japanese seafood in opposition to the ocean discharge of contaminated water.
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