On April 13, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked Japan for its decision to release contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, prompting a backlash in the comments section of Blinken's Twitter post.

According to a research in 2012 by Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR), a marine research institute in Germany, it would only take 57 days for the radioactive materials from Japan's contaminated water to spread to most of the Pacific Ocean, three years to reach the coastal areas of the U.S. and Canada, and 10 years to spread worldwide.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian claimed that the world should not face the consequences of Japan's actions. Japan's fishing industry in Fukushima and many other countries also oppose this plan.

Russia's government has expressed "serious concern" over Japan's plan, while South Korea's president Moon Jae-in has ordered officials to explore petitioning an international court over Japan's decision.