InsideJapan News Network

A politician in Japan has drunk a glass of water taken from puddles inside the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Yasuhiro Sonoda drank the water, which was not intended for human consumption, after it was collected from the power plant.

The newspaper reports that he was visibly nervous when gulping down the water, as part of a press conference to highlight how confident the government is in its decontamination procedures.

Water collected beneath the reactor buildings is being decontaminated so it can be used for tasks such as watering plants, although some have questioned the safety of doing this.

Mr Sonoda is reported to have said: "Just drinking (decontaminated water) doesn't mean safety has been confirmed, I know that. Presenting data to the public is the best way."

The country is still recovering from the tsunami that devastated its north-eastern region, following an 8.9 magnitude earthquake.

As a result of the natural disaster, operations at the power plant were compromised with meltdowns occurring in several of its reactors.

Posted by Susan Ballion


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