Japanese Support Fishermen by Buying from Fukushima Area

Japanese Support Fishermen by Buying from Fukushima Area

日本人通过从福岛地区购买支持渔民

【原文听力】

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　　By Dan Friedell

　　15 November 2023

　　People from all over Japan are purchasing fish caught in the waters near the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

　　In August, the power plant started releasing treated and diluted radioactive water from holding tanks into the ocean. The power complex had suffered some equipment meltdowns after huge waves flooded the area in 2011 following an earthquake. The water release is part of the Tokyo Electric Power Company plan to shut the plant.

　　The Japanese government says the water is safe and it will be continually observed. However, some nations that once purchased a large amount of Japanese seafood are no longer doing so.

　　China has banned seafood from Japan. The regions of Hong Kong and Macau followed along.

　　Russia also announced restrictions on Japanese seafood in mid-October.

　　In South Korea, many people are concerned that the radioactive water will hurt fish close to home. Many people are no longer buying fish in South Korean markets.

　　But people in Japan are trying to support the fishing industry by buying fish and seafood.

　　At a fish store near the Onahama Port in Fukushima, one seller said he was "half surprised, half relieved." Business owner Kazuto Harada had a tank of live lobsters captured in local waters for sale. He said he has not heard any concerns about the water release.

　　Fukushima fish sellers are getting orders from all over Japan. People ask for fish called Jaban-mono, which means fish from Fukushima and nearby Ibaraki. The buyers like flounder and greeneye.

　　Almost all the fish at the market is sold by the afternoon.

　　The water release will continue for many years.

　　Futoshi Kinoshita is the executive of Foodison, which owns the Sakana Bacca group of seafood stores. He said usual testing of fishing waters is important. But, he said it is more important that people gain trust in the seafood as they watch friends and family eat the fish. "I hope the circle of confidence will expand," Kinoshita said.

　　The International Atomic Energy Agency approved the Japanese plan to release the water. The group said the water release is going well so far and said the plan will have very little effect on fish and the environment. The latest water release took place last week.

　　So far, fish prices have remained firm, or even gone up a small amount. However, one fisheries official remains watchful.

　　Katsuya Goto said any mistake could be very damaging to the public's trust that the fish is safe.

　　"The government and TEPCO have begun this despite local fishers' opposition, so we must watch and make sure they do it right," he said.

　　To support the Fukushima seafood business, the Tokyo government launched a campaign in October called "eat and cheer." It runs through the end of the year. The campaign targets customers interested in high-priced seafood such as lobster.

　　Then, in 2024, a group of well-known Kaiseki chefs in the city of Kyoto will start menus that use fish from Fukushima.

　　Yoshinori Tanaka is one of the chefs. His restaurant in Kyoto is called Toriyone. He said fish from local waters are a necessity for Japanese food. He urged the government to continue worrying about water safety. He said seeing people enjoy the Fukushima fish on their menus can also help ease "safety concerns that some people have."

　　So far, people in the seafood business are happy with all the support. Experts, however, warn that such programs will not last forever. They suggest long-term programs to keep the fishing businesses going and efforts to avoid any accidents with the water release.

　　Today there are many fewer fishermen in the Fukushima area and they bring in fewer fish than before the nuclear disaster in 2011. And with the recent interest in fish from Fukushima, some fish sellers are not able to meet demand.

　　Hiroharu Haga is the manager of Ichiyoshi, a fish store in Onahama. He said the supply of Fukushima fish is still limited.

　　"I wish I could sell more local fish," he said.

　　I'm Dan Friedell.

　　And I'm Jill Robbins.

　　Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press.

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　　由丹·弗里德尔撰写。

　　2023年11月15日。

　　来自日本各地的人们正在购买在福岛核电站附近水域捕获的鱼。

　　今年8月，该电厂开始将处理过的稀释放射性水从储水罐中排放到海洋中。在2011年地震后，巨大的海浪淹没了该地区，导致电厂的一些设备熔毁。排放水是东京电力公司关闭电厂计划的一部分。

　　日本政府表示，这些水是安全的，将会持续进行观察。然而，一些曾经大量购买日本海鲜的国家现在已经不再这样做了。

　　中国已经禁止从日本进口海鲜。香港和澳门地区也紧随其后。

　　俄罗斯也在10月中旬宣布对日本海鲜实施限制。

　　在韩国，许多人担心放射性水会伤害到近海的鱼类。许多人已经不再在韩国市场购买鱼类。

　　但是日本的人们正在试图通过购买鱼和海鲜来支持渔业。

　　在福岛小名浜港附近的一家鱼店，一位卖家表示他"半惊讶，半安慰"。店主原田和人有一箱在当地水域捕获的活龙虾出售。他说他没有听到任何关于排放水的担忧。

　　福岛的鱼贩正在接到来自全日本的订单。人们要求购买称为Jaban-mono的鱼，这意味着来自福岛和附近茨城的鱼。买家喜欢比目鱼和绿眼鱼。

　　市场上几乎所有的鱼在下午都被卖出。

　　排放水将会持续多年。

　　木下太志是Foodison（公司名称）的执行官，该公司拥有Sakana Bacca（公司名称）海鲜店集团。他说，通常对渔业水域的测试是重要的。但是，他说，当人们看到朋友和家人吃这些鱼时，他们对海鲜的信任更为重要。"我希望信任的圈子会扩大，"木下说。

　　国际原子能机构批准了日本排放水的计划。该组织表示，到目前为止，排放水的进展良好，并表示该计划对鱼类和环境的影响非常小。最近一次排放水是在上周进行的。

　　到目前为止，鱼的价格一直保持稳定，甚至有小幅上涨。然而，一位渔业官员仍在警惕。

　　后藤克也说，任何错误都可能对公众对鱼类安全的信任造成很大的破坏。

　　他说：“政府和东京电力公司已经开始这项工作，尽管当地渔民反对，所以我们必须监督并确保他们做得正确。”

　　为了支持福岛的海鲜业务，东京政府在10月份启动了一项名为“吃和欢呼”的活动。该活动将持续到年底。该活动的目标客户是对高价海鲜如龙虾感兴趣的人。

　　然后，在2024年，京都市的一群知名懒人料理厨师将开始使用来自福岛的鱼制作菜单。

　　田中良规是其中一位厨师。他在京都的餐厅叫做Toriyone。他说，来自当地水域的鱼对日本食品来说是必需的。他敦促政府继续关注水质安全。他说，看到人们在菜单上享用福岛的鱼也可以帮助缓解"一些人对安全的担忧"。

　　到目前为止，海鲜业的人们对所有的支持都感到满意。然而，专家警告说，这样的项目不会永远持续下去。他们建议长期的项目来保持渔业的运营，并努力避免任何与水释放有关的事故。

　　今天，福岛地区的渔民数量比2011年核灾前少了很多，他们捕捞的鱼也比以前少。而且，由于最近对来自福岛的鱼的关注，一些鱼贩无法满足需求。

　　芳原原是女浜（地名）的一家鱼店一喜的经理。他说，福岛的鱼供应仍然有限。

　　他说：“我希望我能卖更多的当地鱼。”

　　我是丹·弗里德尔。

　　我是Jill Robbins。

　　丹·弗里德尔根据美联社的一篇报道，为英语学习改编了这个故事。

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　　这个故事中的词汇

　　dilute –v. 稀释，给某物加水以降低其浓度

　　relieved –adj. 感到宽慰的，对某事感到好转的

　　afternoon –n. 下午，中午过后到夜晚之前的时间

　　confidence –n. 自信，对某事进展顺利的信心

　　despite –prep. 尽管，即使有一些反对意见，某事仍然发生