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Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Eats Fish From Sea With Treated Nuclear Wastewater To Try To Prove It’s Safe

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida lunched with three Cabinet ministers on seafood from seawater where treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was discharged, according to several reports.

Kishida and his three ministers ate sashimi of flounder, octopus and sea bass, all fished off the coast of Fukushima after the release of the treated wastewater. They also had vegetables, fruits and rice grown in the prefecture, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

“It has a different texture. Very delicious,” Kishida said, nodding his head in approval and looking into the camera, per a video of the lunch meeting by The AP.

Kishida and the ministers had the lunch in an apparent bid to show Fukushima seafood was safe following the discharge of treated radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean off the Fukushima coast. China banned the import of all Japanese seafood as a result, The AP noted.

U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel reportedly dismissed China’s ban as political. China allegedly released thrice the amount of Fukushima’s tritium into the ocean. (RELATED: US Sailors Allegedly Sick From Fukushima Radiation To Sue Japan)

The treated wastewater was from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant destroyed in the 2011 tsunami.

The plan to discharge the treated wastewater was “consistent with relevant international safety standards” and the “controlled, gradual discharges” would have “a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment” despite concerns raised from various quarters, per the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

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