Hong Kong is so opposed to Japan’s plan to release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant that it’s banning seafood products — from four of the country’s landlocked prefectures. That sounds a bit off, yes?
Tochigi, Gunma, Nagano and Saitama, which have a combined zero kilometers of coastline between them, are among the 10 regions whose aquatic produce will no longer be welcome in Hong Kong’s restaurants once Japan proceeds with its aim to begin releasing the more than 1 million cubic meters of treated water into the ocean, possibly as early as next month.
Combined with the fact that right on Hong Kong’s doorstep, nuclear plants in the Chinese province of Guangdong emit similar or higher levels of tritium (the main radioactive element that remains in the Fukushima wastewater after treatment), it’s clear that science isn’t leading this debate. It feels opportunistic at best.