China News Service, April 13th. According to Kyodo News Agency of Japan, the Japanese government held a cabinet meeting on the morning of the 13th local time to formally finalize the policy of discharging nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea.
According to previous reports, it is estimated that the review and construction of special equipment will take about 2 years.
Japan’s storage tanks for nuclear sewage are expected to reach its storage limit in the fall of 2022. In order not to impede the waste dump operations, Japan intends to step up its response.
The treated water contains tritium, a radioactive substance that cannot be removed technically, and will be discharged into the sea after being fully diluted with seawater.
Japan’s move was opposed by local residents and the international community.
Local people in Fukushima held a protest rally, holding up placards such as "The ocean is crying" and "Against the discharge of tritium-containing wastewater into the ocean" to oppose the relevant plans of the Japanese government.
On the 7th, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga met with Hiroshi Kishi, chairman of the National Federation of Fisheries Associations, and informed that he intends to finalize the policy of discharge into the sea.
While expressing his "absolute opposition", Kishi Hiroshi asked Yoshihide Suga to explain to the people and introduce countermeasures for image damage.
Environmental groups and others mentioned the possibility that Japan's move would violate international law.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea stipulates that "all countries have the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment."
To avoid cross-border environmental disasters, "all necessary measures should be taken."