Translation Project #1 (10%) Japan to release Fukushima water

– Pair work into ocean from Aug.

By Sakura Murakamiand Tom Bateman
Mitchel Musso: Hannah Montana star TOKYO, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Japan
said on Tuesday it will start releasing
arrested over crisps theft into the sea more than 1 million
By Steven McIntosh
metric tons of treated radioactive
Entertainment reporter water from the wrecked Fukushima
nuclear power plant on Aug. 24, going
Hannah Montana star Mitchel ahead with a plan heavily criticised by
Musso has been arrested on China.
suspicion of theft and public
intoxication after allegedly The plan, approved two years ago by
stealing a packet of crisps. the Japanese government as crucial
The actor played Oliver Oken in to decommissioning the plant
the Disney sitcom, starring operated by Tokyo Electric Power
alongside Miley and Billy Ray Company (Tepco) (9501.T), has also
Cyrus. faced criticism from local fishing
Police were called on Saturday Mitchel Musso, pictured in 2018, starred opposite Miley
groups fearing reputational damage.
to a hotel in Rockwell, Texas Cyrus in US sitcom Hannah Montana
"I expect the water release to start on August 24, weather conditions permitting," Prime Minister
where the 32-year-old was Fumio Kishida said.
alleged to have stolen the crisps, NBC reported.
BBC News has asked representatives for Musso for comment. The announcement comes a day after the government said it had won "a degree of understanding"
When asked to pay for the crisps, Musso allegedly refused and became from the fishing industry over the release of the water into the Pacific Ocean, even as fishing groups
verbally abusive. said they still feared the reputational damage would ruin their livelihood.
Police ran a background check on Musso, which reportedly found the actor
had several outstanding traffic warrants. The water will initially be released in smaller portions and with extra checks, with the first
discharge totalling 7,800 cubic metres over about 17 days starting Thursday, Tepco said.
Musso spent the night in prison but was released on Sunday on a $1,000
That water will contain about 190 becquerels of tritium per litre, below the World Health
(£793) bond.
Organisation drinking water limit of 10,000 becquerels per litre, according to Tepco. A becquerel is
The actor also faces charges of expired car registration, failure to display a a unit of radioactivity.
driving licence and violating a "promise to appear" notice.
NBC, which obtained the jail records, also published a picture of Musso's Japan has said that the water release is safe. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the
mugshot. U.N. nuclear watchdog, greenlighted the plan in July, saying that it met international standards and
that the impact it would have on people and the environment was "negligible".
Musso has previously been arrested for driving under the influence in
Burbank, California, in 2011. About 56% of respondents to a survey conducted by Japanese broadcaster FNN over the weekend
For that offence, he was fined, sentenced to 36 months of informal probation, said they supported the release, while 37% opposed.
and required to attend alcohol education classes.
"The IAEA and many other countries have said it's safe, so I believe it is. But fishermen are facing
US sitcom Hannah Montana, which ran for four seasons between 2006 and
so many problems so the Japanese government needs to do something to convince them," said 77-
2011, followed a teenage girl who lived a double life as a famous pop star. year-old NGO worker Hiroko Hashimoto.

It starred Miley Cyrus, who has gone on to enjoy a successful solo career,
opposite her real-life father, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus.
Since the show concluded, Musso has voiced a character in another Disney
series, Milo Murphy's Law, and appeared in films Sins of our Youth and The
Sand.
SCEPTICISM ABROAD
Despite assurances, some neighbouring countries have also expressed scepticism over the safety of
the plan, with Beijing the biggest critic.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called the move "extremely selfish". He said
China was deeply concerned about the decision and had lodged a formal complaint.