Japanese lawyer: Japan's discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the ocean violates international legal obligations as a contracting party | Japan | Obligation
As the Japanese government plans to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, opposition within Japan continues to rise. Japanese legal professionals have stated that discharging nuclear contaminated water into the ocean violates international legal obligations.
Japanese lawyer Yoshiro Uzuka has been involved in environmental pollution related litigation cases for decades. He pointed out that Japan is a contracting party to international conventions such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and has an obligation to comply with the convention. Forcing the discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the sea violates the obligations stipulated in the convention.
![Japanese lawyer: Japan's discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the ocean violates international legal obligations as a contracting party | Japan | Obligation](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/32878ea1a4652ea85471bbd0a3d5af09.jpg)
Japanese lawyer Yoshiro Uzuka: Article 192 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea stipulates that each contracting party has an obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment. Article 194 (3) stipulates that the discharge of toxic and harmful substances from land and the discharge of nuclear contaminated water containing radioactive substances into the ocean shall be prevented, in violation of the provisions of these articles.
In 2022, the Japan Bar Association submitted an opinion to the Japanese government, requesting consideration of other methods when dealing with nuclear contaminated water. Tozuka Yoshiro is also a member of this organization. According to him, the lawyers who drafted the opinion are experts in environmental issues. They pointed out in the opinion that the Japanese government should listen carefully to the voices of all parties and stop forcibly advancing the plan to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea.
![Japanese lawyer: Japan's discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the ocean violates international legal obligations as a contracting party | Japan | Obligation](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/33af10370f247bf825a5c4e9397b1f00.jpg)
Japanese lawyer Yoshiro Uzuka: Even if nuclear contaminated water is discharged into the domestic territorial waters, it will eventually flow into the high seas. The high seas are a common property of humanity, constantly gathering through fish and other means. People not only consume these contaminated seafood, but also from Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Pacific island countries. Therefore, this is not something that Japan can decide alone.