Fukushima has caused thousands of deaths due to radiation

Radioactive releases from the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant accident resulted in such low population exposure that 15 years later no casualties have been recorded and no observable increases in cancers or deaths are expected.

According to the final conclusions of the scientific committee established by the UN and WHO (UNSCEAR) [1], no deaths or cancers could be observed and are not expected from the exposure of populations, workers, or emergency workers to radioactive releases from the plant. We should also mention that 3 people died in site accidents unrelated to radioactivity and one person benefited from a compensation agreement as part of a complaint, to which the operator TEPCO consented [2] despite the lack of established link between the plaintiff's cancer and the doses received during the accident (74 mSv) [3].

The radioactive releases due to the Fukushima accident, ten times lower than those of Chernobyl, exposed the population to doses that were, at most, similar to those received during a medical scan.

• The tsunami (more than 90%),
• The earthquake (about 10%)
• And other industrial accidents (more than 30 victims), including the rupture of the Fujinuma dam (8 deaths), are responsible for the death or disappearance of more than 18,500 people in Japan on March 11th, 2011.

Just after the accident, the Japanese authorities set up screening for thyroid cancers in people who were 18 years of age or younger in 2011, which affects about 360,000 people [4]. The latest assessment of this screening, carried out in 2024, indicates that suspicious tumors were detected in 316 people, 219 of whom were operated on. The monitoring program continues. However, given the risk of overdiagnosis due to massive screening, the International Agency for Research on Cancer recommends limiting screening after a nuclear accident to higher-risk cases.

* UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation) is responsible for assessing and reporting levels and effects of exposure to ionizing radiation. This scientific committee operates on the same principle as the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).

** For a one-time dose of radioactivity, no health effects were observed below a dose of 100 mSv.