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The Japan News/Yomiuri
The Japan News/Yomiuri
Politics
The Yomiuri Shimbun

'Cute' radioactive tritium character draws public ire, prompting Japan govt to remove image

The Reconstruction Agency on Wednesday removed from its website and other media a flyer and video explaining radioactive tritium, depicted in a playful illustration, due to criticism that the government is using a "cute depiction" to water down the seriousness.

The flyer and video, which illustrate tritium as a yurukyara PR mascot, were released on Tuesday night, soon after the government officially decided to release into the ocean the radioactive treated water, which continues to multiply on the premises of the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

The agency explains in the flyer and video that "there is a lot of tritium in the environment" and it will be "greatly diluted when released into the ocean." However, it received many complaints via email and phone calls as well as posts on social media criticizing the yurukyara mascot, such as, "Don't water down the problem with a yurukyara."

An agency official said, "We decided to suspend the release [of the flyer and video] after comprehensively assessing the various voices."

Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/

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