Nuclear waste into the sea is by no means a "private matter" of Japan (Observatory)
On April 13, the Japanese government announced the one-year anniversary of its decision to discharge nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.
A year ago, the Japanese government unilaterally decided to filter and dilute a large amount of nuclear sewage from the Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea, ignoring doubts and objections at home and abroad.
The decision is planned to be formally implemented from around the spring of 2023.
It has been 11 years since the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
For 11 years, the issue of how to deal with the nuclear wastewater of the nuclear power plant has attracted the attention of the international community.
In fact, since the Japanese government announced that it will discharge nuclear waste water into the sea, there have been constant voices of opposition in Japan and abroad.
The Japanese people cannot accept it at first.
On April 5, during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the issue of Fukushima nuclear wastewater entering the sea, Hiroshi Kishi, president of the National Federation of Fisheries Associations of Japan, once again made it clear that his position against nuclear wastewater entering the sea remains unchanged.
On March 30, a number of NGOs in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures in Japan submitted a petition letter jointly signed by 180,000 people to the Tokyo Electric Power Company and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry against the discharge of sewage from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. Other methods are required.
In fact, people from all walks of life in Japan have held spontaneous demonstrations and rallies many times, questioning that the government has not fully listened to public opinion and unilaterally implemented this decision.
As Japan's close neighbors and stakeholders, China and the ROK have always maintained serious concerns about the Fukushima nuclear waste water entering the sea.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Japan should revoke its erroneous decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, fully consult with stakeholders and relevant international institutions, and make decisions after carefully evaluating the pros and cons of various nuclear-contaminated water disposal options. , to ensure the safe disposal of nuclear-contaminated water.
The South Korean government has been studying how to bring Japan's decision to discharge the Fukushima nuclear effluent into the sea to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
The international community generally believes that Japan has insisted on discarding nuclear waste water without exhausting safe disposal methods, without fully disclosing relevant information, and without fully consulting with neighboring countries and international institutions.
Such behavior is extremely irresponsible. It will not only harm the health, well-being and development rights of the Japanese people, but also seriously threaten the global marine environment and expose the international community to unnecessary risks.
Why does the Japanese government want to "go its own way"?
The answer is simple: it is the easiest and cheapest way for Japan.
Experts pointed out that the treatment methods of nuclear wastewater include electrolysis, chemical reduction, distillation and burial of formation voids.
However, these methods require long-term technical research and extremely high investment.
In the past two years, because the storage space for nuclear waste water is about to be full, the Japanese government has apparently tried to "cut the mess with a quick knife" and "arrange" it.
In order to appease the domestic people and the international community, the Japanese government has vigorously promoted the safety of nuclear waste water entering the sea.
However, experts point out that nuclear wastewater contains as many as 60 kinds of radioactive contaminants, and these contaminants have a half-life of between 30 and 5730 years, and are basically impossible to filter out by the flow of the sea itself.
Japan must understand that the Pacific Ocean is the Pacific Ocean of the world, not Japan's "sewer".
The coast of Fukushima has the strongest ocean current in the world, and within 57 days from the date of discharge, the radioactive material will spread to most of the Pacific Ocean, and 10 years later, it will spread to the global waters.
The danger and threat of discharging tritium-containing wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean is self-evident.
The issue of Fukushima nuclear wastewater disposal concerns global ecological environment security and people's lives and health in all countries. It is not a "private matter" of Japan, but an event that may cause major environmental harm.
This issue cannot be decided unilaterally by Japan, let alone "operated in the dark". Instead, the principle of openness and transparency should be adhered to, and the international community, especially Japan's neighboring countries, should be widely and fully involved, and scientific assessment should be conducted within the framework of relevant international organizations.