Hong Kong Legislative Council members refute, Hong Kong media: Japanese Consul General in Hong Kong sophistically discharges nuclear contaminated water into the sea and aquatic products | Japanese government | Hong Kong Legislative Council
According to Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po on the 6th, despite opposition, the Japanese government announced the earliest discharge of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water in August. The Hong Kong SAR government previously announced that if Japan releases nuclear contaminated water, Hong Kong will immediately tighten restrictions on seafood imports in 10 cities and counties of Japan. On the 5th, Japanese Consul General to Hong Kong, Kenichi Okada, stated in a television interview that he hoped the SAR government would take into account its relationship with Japan and that it would not retaliate against Hong Kong's restrictions. The Chairman of the Environmental Affairs Committee of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, Ge Peifan, stated that Hong Kong is the second largest importer of Japanese food, and if Japan sincerely maintains its relationship, it should call a halt to the discharge of nuclear wastewater.
On July 20th, multiple citizen groups in Japan held a rally in the center of Tokyo to protest against the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company's strong plan to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea.
According to reports, Kenichi Okada has repeatedly attempted to whitewash nuclear contaminated water in interviews, claiming that the tritium concentration in the treated water is only one seventh of the World Health Organization's drinking water standards. He has also tried to persuade journalists to drink the water, but has avoided discussing whether he will drink it himself. Kenichi Okada said, "Tritium exists in this bottle of water, it exists, but I don't think you're worried. You'll drink it, right?" He assumed the journalist had the courage to drink it without giving the reporter an opportunity to answer, and then continued, "So what's important is not whether it exists, but whether it meets safety standards."
When asked about the Hong Kong SAR government's announcement that if Fukushima nuclear contaminated water is discharged into the sea, it will ban the import of aquatic products from 10 prefectures in Japan. Will the Japanese government take countermeasures? Kenichi Okada claimed that this is a hypothetical issue, but believes that the Japanese government will not retaliate.
Ge Peifan told Wen Wei Po that Hong Kong is the second largest importer of Japanese food after the mainland, and mainland and Hong Kong citizens are important sources of tourism in Japan. For Japan, Hong Kong and the mainland are important markets. If Japan's relationship with Hong Kong and the mainland is damaged due to aquatic issues, the responsibility lies with the Japanese side. If the Japanese side truly cherishes its relationship with the mainland and Hong Kong, it should stop the discharge plan. "It is the Japanese government's plan to discharge Fukushima nuclear contaminated water into the sea, pollute seawater and affect the safety of aquatic products, that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government strengthens the testing of local aquatic products and prohibits the import of aquatic products from 10 prefectures."
Ge Peifan questioned that Kenichi Okada's statement that there will be no "countermeasures" against Hong Kong's actions is meaningless. The root cause of the incident is that Japan discharged nuclear wastewater without sufficient scientific evidence, which forced Hong Kong to impose a ban. What Japan should do is to reflect on the discharge of nuclear wastewater, take into account Japan's relations with the mainland and Hong Kong, and abandon this practice of polluting the ocean.
China has made more than one clear statement regarding the Fukushima nuclear contaminated water discharge plan. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated at a routine press conference on July 20th that China urges Japan to carefully listen to the call of the international community, stop forcefully promoting plans to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea, conduct full consultations with neighboring countries in a sincere manner, dispose of nuclear contaminated water in a responsible manner, and accept strict international supervision.
