Japan's Minister of Economy Motegi Says "Contaminated Water from #Fukushima I NPP Isn't Leaking into Open Ocean"

The ex-McKinsey management consultant never ceases to entertain (albeit in a bad way).

The last I heard Mr. Toshimitsu Motegi was when he said there would be more space to install storage tanks for contaminated water once Reactors 5 and 6 at Fukushima I NPP were decommissioned, casting doubt about his intelligence level. He was also pontificating over the talk between TEPCO and the governor of Niigata regarding Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP's application for safety review, as if it were none of his problem (it was, and is, and will be).

Now, according to the short and sweet two-line article from Jiji Tsushin (10/22/2013), Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshimitsu Motegi, who is also in charge, unfortunately, of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident management and plant decommissioning, thinks the contaminated water from the plant is not leaking into the open ocean:

茂木敏充経済産業相は２２日午前の衆院予算委員会で、東京電力福島第１原発の汚染水について「外洋に漏れているわけではない」と述べた。日本維新の会の松野頼久氏への答弁。

In the Lower House Budget Committee meeting in the morning of October 22, Toshimitsu Motegi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, said about the contaminated water from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, "It's not that it is leaking into the open ocean." It was in response to the question by Yorihisa Matsuno of Japan Restoration Party.

Implication is that therefore it's sort of OK, as no international entities are injured by the contaminated water from Fukushima I Nuke Plant.

Now, what's the definition of the word "外洋" Motegi used?

It literally means "outer ocean". But consulting an online dictionary for the usage of the word, "外洋" could mean in Japanese:

1. ocean: a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere

2. international (open) waters: the open seas of the world outside the territorial waters of any nation

"Territorial waters" could mean any of the following:

1. Territorial waters: 12 nautical miles (22.2 kilometers) from the baseline;

2. Contiguous waters: 12 nautical miles outside the territorial waters;

3. Exclusive Economic Zone: 200 nautical miles (370.4 kilometers) from the baseline.

"International waters" could mean just outside the territorial waters, or contiguous waters, or exclusive economic zone. I am pretty sure Mr. Motegi wants the international water to start as far away from the Fukushima coastline as possible.

Just like the French minister who famously declared the radioactive plume from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident stopped at the French border, Mr. Motegi perhaps thinks radioactive materials know territorial boundaries and behave accordingly.

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