Fukushima: The Curse of Groundwater

NHK WORLD PRIME • Season 6 • Episode 10

About this episode

The decommissioning of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant continues to produce contaminated water. Filtered to remove much of its radioactive content, it is stored on the site as treated water, now filling 1,000 massive tanks. In April 2021, the Japanese government announced plans to dilute the water to contamination levels far below legal limits before discharging it into the sea. However, people in the local fishing industry continue to harbor deep distrust. Why has this problem become so entrenched? The program explores a plan that was proposed soon after the accident 11 years ago, to build an impermeable wall around the plant and prevent the buildup of contaminated water, and why this plan was abandoned.