Worries over seafood safety mount as Japan releases Fukushima water into the Pacific

This aerial picture shows tanks used for storing treated water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. Japan began releasing wastewater from the plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday despite angry opposition from China and local fishermen. (Jiji Press/AFP via Getty Images)

FUKUSHIMA, Japan — Japan began releasing water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean Thursday over the objections of local fishermen and the government of neighboring China.

The move has led to criticism, particularly from fishermen, that the decision to release the water was made without enough public debate and input from Japan's northeast Tohoku region, despite its outsize contribution to the capital's supply of labor, seafood and energy.