This report is by no means a pass for Japan to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea! Press Conference | Evaluation | Passport

The International Atomic Energy Agency released a comprehensive assessment report on the contaminated water at Fukushima, Japan on the 4th. The report believes that Japan's sea discharge plan "generally complies with international safety standards," but IAEA Director General Grossy emphasized that the report is not a "recommendation" or "endorsement" of Japan's sea discharge decision.

The Chinese side has made it clear that this evaluation report cannot serve as a "talisman" or "passport" for Japan's discharge into the sea.

Detailed IAEA report required

At the invitation of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Grossy visited Japan from the 4th to the 7th and submitted a comprehensive assessment report on the disposal of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on the 4th. The report believes that Japan's plan to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea generally complies with international safety standards, and the IAEA will conduct long-term supervision and monitoring of Japan's discharge activities into the sea. But upon closer examination of this report, three key points cannot be ignored.

Firstly, the IAEA does not take responsibility for Japan.

Grossy emphasized in the preface of the report that the discharge of nuclear wastewater into the sea is a "national decision" of the Japanese government, and that the IAEA's "report is neither a recommendation nor endorsement of this policy.". At the press conference, he reiterated that the sea discharge plan is ultimately the decision of the Japanese government. He said that the IAEA will establish a station in Fukushima to monitor the discharge status for a long time, but whether to allow other parties to participate in supervision can only be decided by the Japanese government.

Secondly, the report does not represent a unified opinion within the IAEA.

The report emphasizes in a statement on the title page that the insights presented in the report do not necessarily reflect the views of IAEA member states, and that "the International Atomic Energy Agency and its member states are not responsible for any consequences arising from the use of this report.".

On July 4th, in Tokyo, Japan, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Grossy, submitted a comprehensive assessment report on contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Xiaoyu

Thirdly, faced with many practical concerns, the report did not respond.

For example, can Japan's purification equipment remain effective for a long time? Can the international community timely grasp the situation of excessive emissions? What are the impacts of long-term accumulation and enrichment of radioactive isotopes on marine ecological environment, food safety, and public health? These questions have not been answered in the IAEA report.

Chinese side: Reports cannot be used as "passes"

The Chinese Embassy in Japan held a press conference on the 4th to elaborate on China's position on the issue of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water discharge into the sea, emphasizing that the relevant assessment report of the IAEA cannot be used as a "pass" for Japan's discharge into the sea.

The Chinese Embassy in Japan pointed out that the Japanese government announced its sea discharge plan in April 2021 and officially launched its sea discharge plan in July 2022. It has repeatedly stated that it will not delay the sea discharge, which is far ahead of the completion of the evaluation and final report by the IAEA working group, casting a heavy question mark on Japan's sincerity on the international community; In terms of functional authorization, the International Atomic Energy Agency is not a suitable agency to assess the long-term impact of nuclear contaminated water on the marine environment and biological health; The Japanese side restricts the authorization of the International Atomic Energy Agency working group and does not accept the evaluation of other disposal plans.

On July 4th, the Chinese Embassy in Japan held a press conference in Tokyo to elaborate on China's position on the issue of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water discharge into the sea, emphasizing that the relevant assessment report of the International Atomic Energy Agency cannot be used as a "pass" for Japan's discharge into the sea. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Xiaoyu

The Chinese Embassy in Japan pointed out that based on the above reasons, the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency cannot prove the legitimacy and legality of Japan's discharge into the sea, and cannot exempt Japan from its moral responsibility and international legal obligations.

Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao urged Japan to address legitimate and reasonable concerns at home and abroad, fulfill international legal obligations, revoke erroneous decisions on sea discharge, effectively dispose of nuclear contaminated water in a scientific, safe, and transparent manner, and accept strict international supervision.

On the same day, a Chinese representative pointed out at the 53rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council that Japan's strong push for nuclear contaminated water to be discharged into the sea, using economic costs as a reason to choose to discharge into the ocean, is equivalent to transferring the risk of nuclear pollution to all humanity, which will cause major global marine environmental and public health problems, and cause a larger range of displacement issues. We hope that the international community will pay close attention to this.

Korean media: Japanese government playing "cat tricks"

The Japanese government recently reiterated that it will implement the discharge of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water into the sea this summer. Japanese media reports that the Japanese Prime Minister will decide on the schedule for sea discharge based on reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency and other relevant information. The Japanese side's unilateral approach to the issue of sea discharge has aroused strong opposition and questioning from Japan, the Pacific coastal region, and the international community.

On July 1st, the public held slogans such as "Oppose the discharge of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water into the ocean" and participated in a rally in Seoul, South Korea. Photo by Li Xianghao from Xinhua News Agency

In recent times, opposition parties and civic groups in South Korea have held large-scale rallies to condemn and express anger towards Japan's plan to discharge pollutants from the sea. Meanwhile, two South Korean media outlets reported on the 4th that the Japanese government has provided a large amount of funding to the IAEA through "informal channels", demanding that it make modifications to the evaluation report that are beneficial to Japan.

South Korean online media "Detective" reporter Park Dae yong said at a press conference that "Detective" recently obtained confidential dialogue documents from Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials and believed to be senior officials of the Asian Development Bank. According to the content of the documents and information provided by the whistleblower, the Japanese government provided at least 1 million euros in funding to the IAEA through "informal channels" from the end of May to June 15 this year.

Another journalist from "Exploration", Jiang Zhenjiu, pointed out that according to the information he has, the Japanese government obtained the final evaluation report draft from the IAEA before June 15 and has repeatedly requested modifications to the relevant wording, such as deleting the word "radioactive" and adding content such as the contamination test results of 83 fish species showing that tritium content does not exceed the standard in the evaluation report.

Detective and Dandelion released confidential dialogue records, photos of the final evaluation report draft cover and table of contents, and evidence documents such as the IAEA internal report at the press conference.

South Korea's largest opposition party questions the International Atomic Energy Agency's assessment report on Japan's emissions into the sea

The largest opposition party in South Korea, the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 5th that the International Atomic Energy Agency's comprehensive assessment report on Japan's Fukushima nuclear contaminated water is based on data provided by Japan, and its credibility is questionable. If the Japanese side insists on discharging pollutants into the sea, the Democratic Party of Japan is considering pushing for legislation to upgrade the import ban on Japanese aquatic products.

The Common Democratic Party held an emergency meeting of members of Congress on the 5th to discuss measures to address the Fukushima nuclear contaminated water assessment report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency on the 4th.

Party leader Li Zaiming said at the meeting, "The International Atomic Energy Agency did not inspect relevant facilities, but drew conclusions based on data provided by Japan... President Yin Xiyue must answer, will he completely rely on unverified conclusions for our territorial waters and lives?"

Lee Jae ming also criticized that the South Korean government has not only failed to make efforts to protect the lives and safety of its own people, but has instead been busy performing "sashimi performances", ignoring public anxiety and opposition. The "sashimi performance" he referred to refers to several members of the ruling South Korean National Power Party recently dining at restaurants that operate sashimi to show their support for seafood practitioners, which has raised doubts from opposition parties.

Li Zaiming stated that the Democratic Party will seek to cooperate with multiple opposition parties and take all measures to prevent Japan from discharging pollutants into the sea.

The whip of the Democratic Party of China, Park Kwong chuen, also questioned the evaluation report of the International Atomic Energy Agency at the meeting. According to him, this report seems to have been customized by Japan and cannot serve as a passport for Japan to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea.

"The International Atomic Energy Agency is not an agency responsible for assessing public health and the environment, but rather for nuclear energy utilization. The credibility of this assessment report is low," said Park Gwang hyun. He urged the South Korean government to publicly voice opposition to Japan's plan to discharge pollutants into the sea.

The Common Democratic Party decided at the meeting that if Japan insists on discharging pollutants into the sea, this political party will consider promoting legislation to ban the import of aquatic products from all over Japan. Since 2013, the South Korean government has banned the import of aquatic products from Fukushima Prefecture and its surrounding areas, but aquatic products from other parts of Japan are not within the scope of the ban.

South Korean citizen groups question the credibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency's assessment report on Japanese nuclear contaminated water

On the 5th, a South Korean citizen group called for a nationwide action to prevent Japan's radioactive contaminated water from being discharged into the sea held a press conference at Gwanghae Square in Seoul, questioning the credibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency's comprehensive assessment report on the disposal of nuclear contaminated water in Fukushima, Japan, and calling for the abolition of relevant assessment reports.

The head of the civic group stated at a press conference that the content of the International Atomic Energy Agency's assessment report is based on information provided by the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company, with the premise of verifying the discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the sea, which is "narrow and biased".

The citizen group also stated that over 80% of South Korean citizens oppose Japan's nuclear contaminated water discharge into the sea, and this assessment report is "no different from an accomplice to Japan's nuclear contaminated water discharge into the sea.".

The International Atomic Energy Agency released a comprehensive assessment report on the disposal of nuclear contaminated water in Fukushima, Japan on the 4th. According to Japanese media reports, Japan will determine the discharge schedule based on evaluation reports and other factors. The Japanese side's unilateral approach to the issue of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water discharge into the sea has sparked strong opposition and questioning within Japan and the international community, including in the Pacific coastal region. The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on the 4th that this report did not fully reflect the opinions of all experts participating in the evaluation work, and the relevant conclusions were not unanimously recognized by all experts.

Japanese people gather to protest against the Fukushima nuclear contaminated water discharge plan into the sea

Nearly a hundred Japanese people held a rally in front of the headquarters of Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, on the evening of the 5th to protest against the Fukushima nuclear contaminated water discharge plan.

On that day, Japanese civil organizations such as the "Tent Square in front of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry" held protests outside the headquarters of TEPCO with slogans such as "Do not discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea" and "Do not pollute everyone's ocean". Yamazaki, who participated in the protest, told Xinhua News Agency reporters that the so-called "safety standards" followed by TEPCO itself are problematic. There are no restrictions on the total amount of nuclear contaminated water discharged into the sea, and the regulations on the concentration of radioactive substances are too lenient. It is intolerable to discharge a large amount of nuclear contaminated water containing radioactive substances into the sea despite other treatment methods, which may cause harm to the environment in the future.

Regarding the comprehensive assessment report on the disposal of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water released by the International Atomic Energy Agency on the 4th, several people on site expressed that the Japanese government disregarded the opposition of local residents, fishing groups, and neighboring countries, treating this comprehensive assessment report as a so-called "certification permit" is simply "unreasonable".

At the invitation of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Grossy, will visit Japan from the 4th to the 7th, during which he will also inspect the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Grossy submitted a comprehensive evaluation report to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on the 4th. He emphasized in the preface of the report that the treatment and discharge of water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea is a "national decision" of the Japanese government, and "this report is neither a recommendation nor endorsement of this policy.".