Amid voices of support from across the country for seafood products sourced from Fukushima Prefecture, the local fishing community is pushing ahead with efforts to revitalize the industry despite apprehension about the ongoing decommissioning of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
While Fukushima Prefecture has yet to experience significant reputational repercussions, the fishing industry remains concerned about the decommissioning work, which is expected to take several decades, coupled with the discharge of the treated radioactive water from the crippled plant that began about half a year ago.
Tsuyoshi Shiba, 57, a middleman in the town of Namie, received more than 80 orders for gifts under the furusato nōzei (hometown tax donation) system last year, compared with around 10 a year typically. The surge was so unexpected that he had a hard time securing products to ship at the end of the year.