Is Japan’s Water Safe?

Japan has a lot of water from nature. The water is used for many things. But Japan also has problems with water pollution from:

• Factories: Some factories make water dirty with bad things. The dirty water can make fish and people sick.
• Farms: Some farms use chemicals to grow crops. But the chemicals can also make water dirty with too much plants or algae. They can also make drinking water or watering water bad.
• Nuclear power plant: In 2011, a big earthquake and big wave made a nuclear power plant break in Fukushima. A lot of water with radiation came out from the broken place. The water with radiation can be bad for people or animals who drink them or touch them. The water with radiation also makes the sea animals and fishing worse.
• Climate change: Climate change makes the water cycle and amount change in different ways. For example, the sea level goes up and makes salt water go into fresh water. The temperature goes up and makes less rain and more dryness. More big storms can make floods or landslides that make water dirty or break water things.

Water pollution can make bad things happen to the environment and people’s health. Some of the bad things are:

• Less animals and plants: Water pollution can make less places and food for many animals and plants in the water. This can make some animals and plants die out or be in danger, as well as lose good things like food, clean water, or good weather.
• Sick from water: Water pollution can make people get sick from water with germs or things that are not germs. These germs or things can make people have problems like throwing up, fever, losing water in the body, bad blood, cancer, sugar disease, heart disease, or brain disease. These problems can make people feel bad or die early.
• Less money: Water pollution can also make less money for Japan. For example, water pollution can make less food or money from farming and fishing, as well as less people or money from traveling and playing. Water pollution can also make more money go to cleaning water or making people healthy, as well as more problems or fights over water.

Japan has done many things to make water clean and good over the years. Some of the things are:

• Water Pollution Control Law: This law was made in 1970 to stop factories from making water dirty with bad things.
• Basic Environment Law: This law was made in 1993 to say the main ideas and goals for keeping and making the environment good in Japan.
• Water Supply Law: This law was made in 1957 to say how to give and take care of water services in Japan.
• ALPS Treatment System: This system was made by TEPCO to clean the water with radiation from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Japan has made a lot of progress and success in making water clean and safe in recent years. But Japan still has some problems and questions about water quality and safety in the future.

Japan’s water is safe for drinking, agriculture, industry, and recreation. But Japan also needs to keep working on making it better for everyone.