Chinese Ambassador to Japan Three Questions on the Japanese Government
On August 28th, Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao met with Japanese Deputy Foreign Affairs Officer Masaki Okano at an invitation to further clarify his firm stance on the issue of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water being discharged into the sea.
Wu Jianghao pointed out in response to the so-called negotiations with the Japanese side that despite strong doubts and opposition at home and abroad, the Japanese side insists on launching the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima nuclear power into the sea, which poses huge risks, hidden dangers, and unpredictable hazards to the global marine environment and human health and safety, causing outrage in the international community, including China. This is the root cause of the current situation. The Japanese side must first face reality, reflect on themselves, and immediately stop discharging into the sea.
Wu Jianghao stated that the Japanese claim that the Chinese government should release so-called correct information on the issue of sea discharge is unreasonable. Based on scientific and factual evidence, the Chinese side has expressed its serious concerns and opposition, which is completely legitimate and reasonable. It is precisely because Japan's discharge into the sea poses serious moral, scientific, and international legal issues. Japan should stop whitewashing its discharge behavior, communicate honestly with neighboring countries with a genuine and responsible attitude, accept strict international supervision, and effectively adopt scientific, safe, and transparent methods to dispose of nuclear contaminated water. On the basis of relevant information from the Chinese side and in light of recent developments, the Japanese side should answer several questions seriously:
Firstly, why does the Japanese deliberately emphasize that tritium has been diluted, but always evades other radioactive isotopes? The Japanese side claims that these nuclides have met national safety standards before being discharged into the sea after processing. However, it is widely known that the contaminated water from Fukushima nuclear power plant contains over 60 radioactive nuclides, many of which have not yet been effectively treated except for tritium. And the so-called "reaching the standard" does not mean no, dilution does not mean removal, and the total amount will not decrease. No matter how Japan defends itself, it cannot change the fact that a large number of harmful nuclides are discharged into the sea, which may cause unpredictable harm to the marine environment and human health.
Secondly, why does Japan not conduct comprehensive and systematic monitoring of the marine environment? The current monitoring plan of the Japanese side is not systematic and comprehensive, and does not monitor all emitted nuclides. The monitoring medium is limited to marine organisms, which cannot meet the needs of long-term impact assessment of marine ecology. Based solely on the monitoring methods and data currently released by the Japanese side, claiming that the discharge of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water into the sea is safe and harmless lacks scientific basis, making it difficult to convince. Currently, most of the data released by the Japanese side is sampled, tested, and released by TEPCO. Considering that TEPCO has a notorious record of tampering, concealing, and falsifying data, the international community has sufficient reason to doubt the authenticity and credibility of its data.
Thirdly, why does Japan refuse other stakeholders to participate in the establishment of an international monitoring mechanism? The Japanese side has put the International Atomic Energy Agency at the forefront as a shield, claiming that other countries participating in monitoring must be under the leading framework of the IAEA and can only join after consultation and agreement. However, in fact, the current IAEA monitoring framework lacks on-site participation from other countries or international organizations, which cannot be considered true international monitoring and seriously lacks transparency. If Japan has sufficient confidence in security, it should actively support the establishment of long-term monitoring international arrangements with full and effective participation of all stakeholders, including third-party monitoring independently implemented by other countries.
Wu Jianghao made solemn representations regarding the harassment suffered by the Chinese embassy and consulate in Japan, stating that recently, the Chinese embassy and consulate in Japan received a large number of harassing phone calls from within Japan, causing serious interference to the normal operation of the embassy and consulate. China urges Japan to handle the situation in accordance with the law and effectively ensure the personal safety of Chinese embassies and consulates in Japan, institutions in Japan, enterprises, citizens, and Chinese tourists visiting Japan.
Wu Jianghao stated that China will continue to safeguard the safety of the Japanese embassy and consulate in China and the legitimate rights and interests of citizens in China in accordance with the law. At the same time, the Japanese side should guide public opinion correctly, stop exaggerating and hyping, and not attempt to shift the focus of the incident and cover up their own erroneous behavior in discharging pollutants into the sea.
Wu Jianghao stated that the Japanese side should recognize that the act of discharging pollutants into the sea has aroused great indignation among the Chinese people. Chinese consumers' concerns about food safety are not only real, but also very strong. China's marine industry also faces enormous risks of economic losses. The Chinese government has always adhered to putting the people at the center and naturally responds to the strong concerns of the people. It has the right and responsibility to take legitimate, reasonable, and necessary response measures to maintain the safety of the marine environment and the health of the Chinese people.
