Urgent Proposal on the Discharge of ALPS Treated Water: An Analysis Based on Scenario Planning

With the aim of exploring ways for Japan—an advanced country in the civilian use of atomic energy and the only atomic-bombed country in a war—to advance the cause of nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation in the world, one of the activities of this program that started in 2018 is the study of atomic energy and nuclear nonproliferation. [...] The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) in charge of the discharge of treated water has attempted to prove the “safety” of the discharge into the ocean with scientific evidence, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has duly communicated the results globally. [...] To be more precise, this company is known to have included the scenario of unrest in the Middle East causing crude oil prices to surge in its management strategy in the 4 early 1970s and was thus relatively unscathed from the impact of the Fourth Middle East War in 1973 and the subsequent Oil Shock.2 The discharge of ALPS treated water into the ocean is also an issue where the future is difficult. [...] and the EU, which have been supportive of the discharge in the beginning, toughen their position, demanding that Japan discontinue the discharge of treated water and investigate the causes of the troubles. [...] Despite trends in the number of fishing industry workers and consumption of fisheries products are showing decline of the fisheries industry and there are mounting concerns that the discharge of ALPS treated water into the ocean may further exacerbate the situation of the fisheries industry, initiatives taken by the Fisheries Agency to mitigate reputational damage and revive the fishing industry a.