[International Sharp Review] Persisting in Starting Pollutant Discharge into the Sea, Japan's Credit Completely Bankrupt Society | Fukushima | International

Despite strong opposition from both domestic and international sources, the Japanese government announced on the 22nd that it will initiate the discharge of contaminated Fukushima nuclear water into the sea on the 24th. Tokyo Electric Power Company in Japan subsequently initiated preparations to inject nuclear contaminated water into the sewage pipeline. "Unauthorized pollution discharge, betrayal!" "Listen to the voices of the people!" On that day, Japanese citizens, international organizations, and Pacific coastal countries all condemned and demanded that Japan withdraw this decision. The international community generally believes that Japan's unprecedented push to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea not only violates international law, but may also bring irreversible disasters.

Since the Japanese government announced its plan to discharge pollutants into the sea two years ago, the legitimacy, legality, and safety of this plan have been questioned. To appease public anger, the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company have promised the people of Fukushima and the international community that they will not dispose of nuclear contaminated water without the understanding of stakeholders. But reality shows that the Japanese government has gone back and lacks integrity.

Since February this year, government officials, including Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasumi Nishimura, have repeatedly explained the plan to the people of Fukushima. Ironically, every time Japanese officials are asked what standards are used to determine whether the people agree, they cannot provide a specific answer. Just the day before announcing the launch of the pollution discharge plan, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with representatives from various fishing industries, but still did not obtain the consent and understanding of all parties.

"Even if we all oppose it, how can a government break the agreement at will?" 71 year old Fukushima fisherman Haruhiro Ono pointed out that the Japanese government's strong push for a sea discharge plan is "untrustworthy of the people.". Many Japanese fishermen also condemn the Japanese government for violating their previous communication commitments, saying, "We were deceived.".

The Japanese government is not just trying to deceive the domestic population. For the past two years, it has been vigorously engaged in public relations internationally, deliberately creating the illusion that the sea discharge plan is "safe and harmless". On the one hand, the Japanese side has changed the concept by beautifying "nuclear contaminated water" as "nuclear treated water" to downplay its substantive harm. Japanese newspapers, television stations, and others extensively publish and broadcast advertisements claiming that nuclear contaminated water is "safe" to deceive the public and conceal opposition. At the same time, Japan also spread the statement that "there is scientific basis for the discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the sea" through international occasions such as the United Nations Human Rights Council and the US Japan Korea Summit, in order to win the endorsement of other countries.

On the other hand, Japan spends a lot of money to buy "permits" for discharging pollutants into the sea. According to South Korean media reports, before the release of the evaluation report by the International Atomic Energy Agency in July this year, the Japanese government had already obtained the draft report in advance and proposed substantive revision suggestions; Japanese officials also donated over 1 million euros to the staff of the institutional secretariat. After the evaluation report was released, it did not fully reflect the opinions of all the experts involved in the evaluation, and the relevant conclusions did not receive unanimous recognition from the experts. Ken Bussler, an American marine radiation expert, pointed out that the Japanese government only wants the cheapest and fastest solution, which is to "line up".

Japanese journalist Yasuhiro Ohru once pointed out in his book "Core Meltdown" that the problem was not only with the core of the Fukushima nuclear power plant reactor, but also with the bankers who only worked hard to protect their own debts when the operation was in crisis, and the politicians who were still immersed in crazy political struggles despite unprecedented national disasters. They all fell into a "core meltdown" situation. It is not difficult to see that the Fukushima nuclear accident is not only a natural disaster, but also a man-made disaster, and has caused harm to this day.

Nuclear wastewater is nuclear wastewater, and no amount of small actions by the Japanese side can whitewash it. Currently, multiple studies have shown that Fukushima nuclear contaminated water contains a large amount of radioactive elements, including tritium, carbon-14, cobalt-60, strontium-90, and so on. Due to the action of ocean currents, these substances may spread to the entire Pacific Ocean and even global oceans, causing immeasurable impacts on the marine environment and human health. According to data released by the Japanese side, about 70% of nuclear contaminated water still does not meet discharge standards after being treated by a multi nuclide treatment system. The IAEA assessment report also pointed out that ALPS "cannot remove all radioactive nuclides from nuclear contaminated water.". In addition, Japan has not responded to international concerns about the accuracy of nuclear contaminated water data and monitoring arrangements for discharge into the sea.

In this situation, Japan's forced discharge of nuclear wastewater into the sea is essentially shifting the huge risk of nuclear pollution onto all humanity, and will inevitably face resolute opposition. According to a recent poll by Kyodo News Agency, over 80% of respondents believe that the Japanese government's explanation of nuclear contaminated water is "insufficient"; Nearly 90% of respondents are concerned that the discharge of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water will damage Japan's image. Greenpeace expert Sean Bernie pointed out that the Japanese government "should stop violating the human rights of people in the region.". More than 40000 people in South Korea recently called on the government to file a lawsuit with the International Court of the Law of the Sea to prevent Japan from discharging nuclear contaminated water into the sea.

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, countries have an obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment. As a contracting party, Japan should assume responsibility in accordance with international law. The international community also has the full right to pick up legal weapons and hold them accountable and claim compensation. Japan, which opened the Pandora's Box, has completely gone bankrupt in terms of credit. The world should not bear the cost of its extreme selfishness and irresponsibility.