A Kyodo News survey has found that 80.6% of prefectural fisheries cooperative associations were affected by the discharge of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the sea, with many feeling the impact through China's import ban on Japanese marine products.
The survey, released Friday, found that 29 out of 36 respondents among the members of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations said they "had felt" or "had somewhat felt" negative effects, including financial damage due to the water release, overwhelmingly due to the subsequent import ban by China.
None of the 29 organizations saw a negative impact in the domestic market such as refusal to purchase their products. The Fisheries Agency has said there is no other reputational damage than the one caused by the Chinese import ban.