South China Morning Post
Beijing warned that it might take action in response to Tokyoâs decision to dump radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, adding to already strained ties between the two East Asian neighbours. Chinaâs foreign ministry on Tuesday blasted the Japanese government for being âextremely irresponsibleâ in its decision to release 1 million tonnes of waste water into the Pacific Ocean in two years, a decision that has prompted fierce opposition from the local fishing industry as well as neighbouring countries, including South Korea. However, the United States said the approach was acceptable. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the decision, long delayed by public opposition and safety concerns, was the âmost realistic optionâ. This comes a decade after the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl was triggered by a huge earthquake and tsunami that ripped through northeastern Japan in 2011.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Suga said the Japanese government would âtake every measure to absolutely guarantee the safety of the treated water and address misinformationâ. He said his cabinet would meet again within a week to work out the details of the plan. The plantâs operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc, and government officials say tritium, a radioactive material that poses little risk to human health in low concentrations, cannot be removed from the water. Other more radioactive materials, including strontium and caesium, can be eliminated from the water before its release. In a statement on Tuesday, Beijing said safety concerns remain and that China had not been properly consulted by Tokyo over the decision. âThe Japanese side has yet to exhaust all avenues of measures, disregarded domestic and external opposition, has decided to unilaterally release the Fukushima plantâs nuclear waste water without full consultation with its neighbouring countries and the international community,â the foreign ministry statement said. âThis action is extremely irresponsible and will pose serious harm to the health and safety of the people in neighbouring countries and the international community.â China called on Tokyo to reverse the decision, adding that it would continue to monitor the development and âreserve the right to respond furtherâ. Shaun Burnie, a senior nuclear specialist with Greenpeace Japan, said the East China Sea had already been polluted by caesium leaked from Fukushima since 2011, citing a 2018 model study by Nanjing University of Science and Technology in China. He said that although the level of radioactive material from Fukushima in the East China Sea would not be significant in the future compared with that on the coast of Japan, there was no reason to allow it to pollute any marine environment. The variety of radionuclides that would be discharged into the sea might damage the DNA of humans and other organisms, Burnie said. Explainer | How dangerous is Japanâs Fukushima nuclear plant 10 years after meltdowns? Greenpeace Japan said the discharge disregarded the human rights and interests of the people in Fukushima, wider Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. âRather than using the best available technology to minimise radiation hazards by storing and processing the water over the long term, they have opted for the cheapest option - dumping the water into the Pacific Ocean,â said Kazue Suzuki, climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace Japan, adding that the Cabinetâs decision failed to protect the environment and neglected the large-scale opposition and concerns of the local Fukushima residents, as well as the neighbouring citizens around Japan. Also on Tuesday, South Korea expressed âstrong regretâ over Japanâs decision. âThe government expresses strong regret over the Japanese governmentâs decision to release contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean,â said Koo Yoon-cheol, head of South Koreaâs Office for Government Policy Coordination. Koo presided over an emergency vice-ministerial meeting to discuss Seoulâs actions following Japanâs announcement before addressing a press conference. He said the government would âtake every necessary measureâ to keep the South Korean people safe from contaminated water from the Fukushima plant. More than a dozen South Korean civic activists staged a protest outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday condemning Japanâs proposed discharge of radioactive waters into the sea as a ânuclear terrorist actâ. Taiwanâs Atomic Energy Council on Tuesday expressed opposition to and regret over Tokyoâs planned action. Tokyo, meanwhile, said it has been in close coordination with, and had the backing of, the International Atomic Energy Agency. The decision also appears to have been backed by its ally the United States. Fukushima, 10 years on: Researcher says the âsuffering is far from overâ âIn this unique and challenging situation, Japan has weighed the options and effects, has been transparent about its decision and appears to have adopted an approach in accordance with globally accepted nuclear safety standards,â said Ned Price, State Department spokesman in a statement on Monday. âWe look forward to the GOJâs [Government of Japan] continued coordination and communication as it monitors the effectiveness of this approach.â Additional reporting by Park Chan-kyong and Amber Wang More from South China Morning Post:Japan announces it will release treated radioactive water from Fukushima nuclear plant into seaChina raises âdeep concernsâ over Japanâs plan to release Fukushima plant water into oceanFukushima, 10 years on: Hong Kong researcher says the âsuffering is far from overâ for residents of areas devastated by nuclear disasterChina recommits to nuclear energy, 10 years after FukushimaâCrazyâ US-China cooperation on nuclear energy key to tackling climate change, forum hears on Fukushima anniversaryThis article China warns of action over Japanâs decision to dump radioactive Fukushima water into the sea first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.