Seventy-two percent of respondents in an Asahi Shimbun poll said the Abe administration’s response to leaks of radioactive water at the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was “late.”
This compared with 15 percent who answered it was “early.”
The administration announced Sept. 3 that the central government will take responsibility by spending at least 47 billion yen ($473 million) to deal with tons of radiation-contaminated water flowing daily from the plant into the sea.
Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. acknowledged a leak from a storage tank in July.
For the survey, The Asahi Shimbun contacted 3,496 voters by telephone on Sept. 7-8. There were 1,925 valid responses, accounting for 55 percent of the total.
The respondents were also asked whether they feel the government should take the lead in tackling this growing problem, and 89 percent answered “yes.”
When asked to pick one option among four in regard to the gravity of the problem, 95 percent of respondents answered it is “serious.” Of that number, 72 percent said “very much” and 23 percent said “to some degree.”
Continue reading at ASAHI POLL: 72% criticize government’s response to Fukushima radioactive water leak issue
