Located in the southeast of Japan's Fukushima Prefecture, Iwaki City used to take pride in its thriving fishing industry. However, the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster devastated the region's fishing industry. Now, facing the Japanese government's success in the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, local fishers in Iwaki City, only 50 kilometers away from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, feel uncertain about the future.

Shigeru Nakagaki, a 68-year-old seafood merchant, has been running a seafood store in Iwaki City for 26 years. His store sells over a hundred types of processed seafood, most of which are locally sourced from Fukushima. Before the nuclear disaster, Nakagaki's store was packed with customers. But after the disaster, people were no longer willing to buy seafood from Fukushima.

Nakagaki's shop even had to close for six months due to a lack of customers. And now, as the Japanese government began discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, he is unsure how he will survive.

The damaged reputation of Fukushima's fishing industry has also led to lower prices for seafood from the region. For example, flounder, sole and mackerel from Fukushima Prefecture still fetch lower prices than the national average in Japan.

A recent poll published in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun showed that about 75 percent of respondents said the government could have done more to prevent the reputational damage to Japanese seafood.

Fumio Kishida, prime minister of Japan, attempted to reassure fishing communities that the discharge was safe. However, head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, Masanobu Sakamoto, told media that the group's opposition to the plan remains firm.

The only desire of those in the fishing industry is to carry out their work with peace of mind, while consumers only wish to enjoy safe and high-quality seafood. But since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, many consumers in Japan have been avoiding seafood from the region. The decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean will only make it harder for local fishermen to make a living and push consumers even further away from Fukushima's seafood.

(Cover via CMG)