China is furious with Japan’s plan to release treated Fukushima water into the ocean

Japan
is
expected
to
start
releasing
a
huge
amount
of
treated
radioactive
water
from
the
tsunami-hit
Fukushima
nuclear
power
plant
into
the
Pacific
Ocean,
a
highly
controversial
move
that
has
drawn
sharp
criticism
from
neighboring
countries.

The
imminent
water
release
comes
more
than
a
decade
after
Japan
was
rocked
by
the

second-worst
nuclear
disaster
in
history.
A
massive
earthquake
and
tsunami
in
March
2011
destroyed
the
Fukushima
nuclear
power
plant,
which
is
situated
on
Japan’s
east
coast,
about
250
kilometers
(155
miles)
northeast
of
the
capital
Tokyo.

Japanese
Prime
Minister
Fumio
Kishida

said
earlier
this
week
that
the
country
plans
to
discharge
roughly
1.3
million
metric
tons
of
treated
wastewater
—
enough
to
fill
about
500
Olympic-sized
swimming
pools
—
from
the
wrecked
Fukushima
power
plant
into
the
sea
from
Thursday,
depending
on
weather
conditions.

Japan’s
government
has
repeatedly
said
the
discharge
of
the
treated
water
is
safe
and
the
U.N.’s
nuclear
watchdog
has
endorsed
the
move.
The
International
Atomic
Energy
Agency
said
in
early
July
that
Tokyo’s
plans
were
consistent
with
international
standards
and
will
have
a
“negligible”
impact
on
people
and
the
environment.
The
process
will
take
decades
to
complete.

Neighboring
countries
are
far
from
happy,
however.

Local
fishing
groups
and

U.N.
human
rights
experts
have
voiced
their
concerns
about
the
potential
threat
to
the
marine
environment
and
public
health,
while

campaigners
say
that
not
all
possible
impacts
have
been
studied.

Japan
says
the
process
of
releasing
the
filtered
and
diluted
water
is
a
necessary
step
of
decommissioning
the
plant
and
that
a
relatively
swift
solution
is
needed
because
the
storage
tanks
holding
the
treated
water
will
soon
reach
their
capacity.

Regionally,
China
has
emerged
as
one
of
the
fiercest
opponents
to
Japan’s
plans.

Foreign
Ministry
Spokesperson
Wang
Wenbin
on
Tuesday

accused
Tokyo
of
being
“extremely
selfish
and
irresponsible”
by
pressing
ahead
with
the
disposal
of
the
water,
adding
that
the
ocean
should
be
treated
as
a
common
good
for
humanity
“not
a
sewer
for
Japan’s
nuclear-contaminated
water.”

“China
strongly
urges
Japan
to
stop
its
wrongdoing,
cancel
the
ocean
discharge
plan,
communicate
with
neighboring
countries
with
sincerity
and
good
will,
dispose
of
the
nuclear-contaminated
water
in
a
responsible
manner
and
accept
rigorous
international
oversight,”
Wang
said
at
a
news
conference.

A
spokesperson
for
Japan’s
Embassy
in
London
did
not
respond
to
a
request
for
comment
from
CNBC.

Hong
Kong’s
Chief
Executive
John
Lee,
meanwhile,
“strongly
opposes”
the
discharge
of
wastewater
from
the
Fukushima
power
plant.
Responding
to
Japan’s
announcement,

Hong
Kong
announced
import
curbs
on
some
Japanese
food
products.

South
Korea,
at
times
a
lone
voice
of
regional
support
to
Japan,

said
it
sees
no
scientific
problem
with
the
plan
to
release
the
treated
water.
It
made
clear
in
a
statement
issued
on
Tuesday,
however,
that
the
government
“does
not
necessarily
agree
with
or
support
the
plan.”

Hundreds
of
activists
in
South
Korea
had
gathered
in
the
capital
of
Seoul

earlier
this
month
to
rally
against
Japan’s
plan
to
dispose
of
the
treated
water
into
the
ocean.

Both
China
and
South
Korea
have
banned
fish
imports
from
around
Fukushima.

Nigel
Marks,
an
associate
professor
at
Curtin
University
in
Perth,
Australia,
said
the
Fukushima
water
problem
boils
down
to
tritium
—
a
radioactive
isotope
of
hydrogen
that
occurs
naturally
in
the
environment
and
is
released
as
part
of
the
routine
operation
of
nuclear
power
plants.

“Tritium
releases
far
higher
than
that
planned
at
Fukushima
have
been
happening
for
around
sixty
years
with
a
perfect
safety
record,”
Marks
told
CNBC
via
email.

It
“poses
the
question
as
to
how
the
Fukushima
water
became
such
a
PR
nightmare,
given
that
from
a
radiation
safety
perspective
the
tritium
is
essentially
harmless,”
he
continued.
“The
underlying
problem
is
that
the
release
sounds
bad.
The
typical
person
isn’t
aware
that
their
own
body
is
radioactive,
nor
do
they
have
a
sense
of
scale
of
how
much
radiation
is
a
lot,
nor
how
much
is
little.”

“At
this
point
science
needs
to
step
in
and
have
a
say
—
after
all,
tritium
is
produced
in
the
upper
atmosphere
every
day;
in
fact,
one
year
of
Fukushima
water
has
the
same
amount
of
tritium
as
four
hours
of
rainfall
across
the
Earth,”
Marks
said.

“Fundamentally
this
is
why
the
Fukushima
water
is
a
total
non-issue
—
there
is
already
a
small
amount
of
tritium
around
us
(harmlessly
doing
nothing)
and
the
tiny
extra
bit
won’t
matter
one
jot.”

Fishing
groups
in
Japan,
South
Korea
and
the
Philippines
have
all

criticized
the
release
of
treated
wastewater
from
the
nuclear
plant,
fearing
that
it
could
affect
regional
resources
and
the
livelihood
of
coastal
communities.

Analysts
at
environmental
campaign
group
Greenpeace

said
they
were
“deeply
disappointed
and
outraged”
by
Japan’s
decision
to
release
treated
radioactive
water
into
the
Pacific
Ocean.

“Instead
of
engaging
in
an
honest
debate
about
this
reality,
the
Japanese
government
has
opted
for
a
false
solution
–
decades
of
deliberate
radioactive
pollution
of
the
marine
environment
–
during
a
time
when
the
world’s
oceans
are
already
facing
immense
stress
and
pressures,”
said
Shaun
Burnie,
a
senior
nuclear
specialist
at
Greenpeace
East
Asia.

“This
is
an
outrage
that
violates
the
human
rights
of
the
people
and
communities
of
Fukushima,
and
other
neighboring
prefectures
and
the
wider
Asia-Pacific
region.”