Why did Japan choose to announce the discharge of nuclear waste water at this time

  Wen/Yu Tianren

  Issued in the 994th issue of China News Weekly on May 5, 2021

  The Japanese government convened a meeting of relevant cabinet officials on April 3 and decided to discharge the nuclear waste water accumulated after the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea.

  Once this decision was announced, it immediately caused an uproar in the international arena.

  The environmental protection organization strongly condemns this behavior as a violation of the human rights of people in the Asia-Pacific region and a violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

  South Korea expressed its strong regret over the decision of the Japanese government, and the people held a demonstration in front of the Japanese Embassy in South Korea.

  A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Japan’s “this kind of behavior is opaque, unscientific, illegal, irresponsible, and unethical, and is a risk to the world.”

  In fact, the biggest opposition is the Japanese people, especially the fishermen who depend on the ocean for food. People have been demonstrating around the prime minister's residence for days, but they have not seen media reports.

In recent years, the entire Japanese society has turned right because of the Trump phenomenon, and now the mainstream media in Japan are afraid to criticize the government.

  So why does the Japanese government still do this?

  The important thing is not to discharge, but to determine the timing of discharge.

The so-called "opportunity" is not "time does not wait" as the Japanese government said, sewage is about to overflow, but the international situation.

  Japan has been considering discharging the waste water from the nuclear accident to the sea, but the possible reaction of the international community has prevented Japan from making up its mind. The current international situation makes the Japanese government feel that the time has come.

  In fact, in the international community, only China, South Korea, and Russia—the neighboring countries of Japan—are really paying attention to this matter.

The relationship between these countries and Japan is very delicate. The relationship between China, Russia and Japan is affected by the relationship with Japan’s protectorate, the United States, and South Korea’s national sentiment is almost a belief in anti-Japanese fundamentalism.

It is basically impossible to obtain the consent of these three countries even with tacit approval, so it has been delayed.

  But the timing is right for Japan.

  South Koreans have a strong anti-Japanese sentiment, and the Moon Jae-in government is an innovating regime, and relations with Japan have been very stiff.

During this period of time, the Moon Jae-in government has encountered many problems. The successive cabinet scandals have greatly damaged the ruling party’s reputation. This directly reflects the ruling party’s defeat in the mayoral elections and municipal by-elections in Seoul and Busan.

  South Korean Foreign Minister Jeong Yi-yong directly issued a speech on the issue of nuclear waste water that "if the procedures conform to the International Atomic Energy Agency's standards, there is no objection", which has stepped back from his original position.

  Russia has no time to take care of the Far East because of the deterioration of its relations with Europe and the United States over Crimea and related issues with Ukraine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson only stated that Moscow expects Tokyo to clarify in more detail the plan for discharging nuclear waste water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident to the sea, and allow monitoring of the radiation of nuclear waste water into the sea if necessary.

It's basically the default.

  All that is left is China.

  Sino-US relations have regressed greatly during the Trump era. The Biden administration has basically inherited Trump's policies in its relations with China, and Biden attaches more importance to relations with allies than Trump.

Therefore, Japan has the support of the United States on the issue of water pollution. On the contrary, if Trump is re-elected, he may not necessarily support the Japanese on this issue.

  However, Japan still values ​​its relations with China.

Although the Japanese government has followed the European and American trends on issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong, it has not taken any specific actions.

When Biden held talks with Yoshihide Suga a few days ago, Japan believed that it controlled the topic within the scope of "peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait" and "cross-strait issues."

  Of course, the Japanese government itself has prepared countermeasures that wishful thinking cannot work.

The government does not discharge pollution into the ocean immediately, but only two years later.

Now it’s just taking a look. If everyone doesn’t say anything, let’s release it. If the situation is not good for Japan, then make plans.

  (The author is "An engineer who likes history in Japan. He has works "A Class of War Criminals Called Staff" and "The vast ocean is a casino")

  China News Weekly, Issue 16, 2021

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