Mieko Yoshida, 73, lives with her 10 cats in the Odaka area of Minamisoma city, Fukushima prefecture, less than 20 kilometers away from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant which was wrecked by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

She was forced to leave her hometown after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Five years later, when she returned, she realized that animals too had been affected by nuclear contamination as many pets were left behind when the people were evacuated. Yoshida has been rescuing abandoned pet cats in the local area since then.

"They are also living beings, our companions, I cannot remain silent and endure this," said Yoshida. "Animals are even more vulnerable than humans are."

Yoshida said the government and the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water is "purely self-serving." 

As a local resident, it is beyond words to describe her feelings at seeing how her hometown has been destroyed after the disaster.

"The people of Fukushima never agreed to the ocean discharge as we have nowhere else to go. How can we just watch this happen in silence?"

Japan started releasing nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, despite raging opposition at home and abroad. TEPCO said the radioactive wastewater has been diluted as planned before being discharged via an underwater tunnel one kilometer from the plant. However, the nuclear-contaminated water containing a large amount of radioactive nuclides will be discharged over 30-40 years.

The plan, approved two years ago by the Japanese government, has faced criticism at home and abroad. A total of 88.1 percent of residents surveyed expressed concerns over the government's plan to discharge treated radioactive wastewater into the ocean, according to the latest opinion poll conducted by the national news agency Kyodo. 

Another Fukushima resident, Tomoko Sato, also shared her worries over the discharge. "The Japanese public may not fully understand the issue of contaminated water but they just don't provide detailed explanations. We are certainly concerned about the ocean discharge."

Sato said the consequences will make a bigger impact on the next generation. "As the older generation, we may not be as concerned about it anymore, but what about our children and grandchildren who will have to live on?"