Recently, people from all walks of life in Japan have continued to hold rallies in Tokyo and other places, resolutely opposing the plan of the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (hereinafter referred to as "TEPCO") to discharge Fukushima nuclear polluted water into the sea during the spring and summer of this year. International public opinion has also urged the Japanese government to face up to the legitimate concerns of all parties, earnestly fulfill its international obligations and accept strict international supervision. Before full consultation and agreement are reached with stakeholders such as neighboring countries and relevant international institutions, Japan shall not start the discharge of nuclear polluted water into the sea without authorization.
"The plan to expel the sea has caused concern from all parties at home and abroad in Japan and should be handled with caution."
On March 21st, nearly 5,000 people from all over Japan held a rally in Tokyo to protest against the plan of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to discharge nuclear polluted water into the sea and oppose the Japanese government’s nuclear energy policy. Kazuhiro Sato from Fukushima Prefecture is "Don’t pollute the ocean again! One of the representatives of the citizens’ meeting. He said that the public opinion survey in Fukushima Prefecture showed that about 70% of the respondents opposed the discharge of nuclear polluted water into the sea. The nuclear polluted water in the storage tank contains a variety of radioactive substances, and once it starts to be discharged, it will continue to be discharged for at least 30 years.
March 11th is the 12th anniversary of the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Many Japanese people held a protest rally in front of the headquarters of TEPCO and the official residence of the Japanese Prime Minister. Slogans such as "Don’t let nuclear pollution pollute the sea", "The sea is not a trash can" and "Protect the sea, protect children and protect the future" express people’s strong demands against nuclear pollution water discharging into the sea.
Members of the Activity Committee of the Workers’ Welfare Club in Japan Valley said that radioactive elements in nuclear polluted water will return to human body through food chains such as seaweed and fish, which will harm people’s health again. It is unconvincing, hypocritical and irresponsible for TEPCO to discharge nuclear polluted water on the grounds that it has no storage place, which violates the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping Wastes and Other Substances.
Liu Tianzhen, the head of the Japanese citizen group Dandelion House, said that it is a safe and feasible scheme to use more than 10 large-scale water storage tanks with a capacity of 100,000 tons to preserve nuclear polluted water on land for a long time, but the government and TEPCO ignored it, which is regrettable. Keiko Muse, who made a special trip from Kawasaki City to Tokyo to attend the rally, told this reporter: "Without the consent of other Asian neighbors, the Japanese side will discharge nuclear polluted water into the sea without authorization, which is absolutely not allowed."
On March 10th, Japanese people held a rally in front of the gate of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to protest against the plan to discharge nuclear polluted water into the sea. Former Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and the leader of the Social Democratic Party, Mizuho Fukushima, attended the speech. Mizuho Fukushima said that today, 12 years later, the impact of the Fukushima nuclear accident is still continuing, and the relevant emergency declaration has not been lifted. Therefore, nuclear polluted water must never be discharged into the sea, and radioactive materials must be preserved in a centralized manner. Naoto Kan participated in the handling of the Fukushima nuclear accident as the Japanese Prime Minister 12 years ago. After his speech, he told reporters: "The plan to expel the sea has caused concern among all parties at home and abroad in Japan and should be handled with caution."
Japanese domestic media commented that the Japanese government chose a "shortcut" with the supremacy of economic interests in the case of imperfect scientific professional discussion and insufficient communication with the public. Non-governmental organizations such as the National Federation of Fishery Associations of Japan strongly criticized the Japanese government for breaking its promises and ignoring the interests of fishermen’s groups. Instead of actively seeking people’s understanding, it hastily restarted nuclear power and accelerated the construction of sea discharge. Simple and rude practices further aggravated people’s fears and panic.
"This is a complete deception, and this practice of fooling the people continues."
According to domestic polls in Japan, 43% of the people oppose the discharge of nuclear polluted water into the sea, and more than 90% believe that discharging water into the sea will have a negative impact.
At the international seminar held by the environmental protection organization "Friends of the Earth in Japan" a few days ago, Wu Teng Leizi, a resident of Fukushima Prefecture and the head of the liaison meeting of Fukushima nuclear accident victims, said in his speech that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and TEPCO have been organizing people to visit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and sending people to various schools to hold lectures in order to publicize the safety of the so-called nuclear polluted water. TEPCO even took an instrument that can only measure gamma rays to measure the nuclear polluted water that only emits beta rays after treatment, so that people could see that the pointer was motionless and cheat visitors of their trust in the safety of nuclear polluted water. "This is a complete deception, and this practice of fooling the people continues."
Wu Teng said that once it started to discharge into the ocean, it would continue to do so for decades to come. Where the nuclear pollution water flows, there are people who live on the sea and creatures who make the sea their home. The discharge of nuclear polluted water into the sea is an infringement on life.
Kenichi Oshima, a professor at the Department of Policy at Ryoku University in Japan, believes that the Japanese government only announces the progress made in the aftermath of nuclear power plants, but rarely mentions various problems and difficulties. In fact, radioactive substances are different from ordinary dangerous chemicals, and it is difficult to remove them by chemical treatment. At the same time, little is known about the long-term effects of radioactive substances on marine ecosystems. Therefore, it is most important that radioactive substances should be treated in a controlled state and should not be released into the environment.
The opacity of information has also caused concern among Japanese fishery groups. Representatives of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Life Cooperative Association and Miyagi Fishery Association submitted a joint signature of about 42,000 people to TEPCO and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, opposing the nuclear pollution water discharge scheme. Imano Zhiguang, president of the Xiangma Shuangye Fishery Association, which belongs to fishermen in Songchuanpu Fishing Port, expressed firm opposition to the practice of discharging nuclear polluted water into the sea. He said: "The most important agreement between the government and TEPCO is not to discharge or dispose of nuclear polluted water before we understand it. So far, a lot of information has been concealed by TEPCO. "
"The Pacific Ocean is related to the livelihood of many people, and the ecological environment is very important to many countries."
There are more than 1.3 million tons of nuclear polluted water to be discharged from Fukushima, containing more than 60 kinds of radionuclides. Once it is discharged into the ocean, it will spread to the global waters in the next few decades, which will have an incalculable impact on the global marine environment and human health.
Japan’s plan to discharge nuclear polluted water into the sea has aroused widespread concern and opposition from neighboring countries and stakeholders. At the informal meeting of special leaders of the Pacific Island Forum held recently, the issue of Japan’s nuclear polluted water discharging into the sea became a key topic. Leaders reiterated that Japan should guide the political decision of discharging nuclear polluted water into the sea in a scientific way. Japan’s plan to discharge nuclear polluted water into the sea is not a simple domestic matter, but will affect important world events including the South Pacific island countries. In view of the unsatisfactory independence and verifiability of data provided by relevant parties in Japan, the Pacific Island Forum has repeatedly called on Japan to postpone the plan of discharging nuclear polluted water into the sea.
Fiji’s Acting Prime Minister Kamikaga said recently that Fiji was on high alert because of the plan to discharge nuclear polluted water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Kamikaga said: "The Pacific Ocean is related to the livelihood of many people, and the ecological environment is very important to many countries. If you pass through ‘ Multi-nuclide removal equipment ’ The treated nuclear polluted water is so safe, why doesn’t Japan reuse it or use it in its own manufacturing and agriculture? "
Carly Birch, a sociologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, believes that it is the basic right of people in the Pacific region to enjoy a clean, healthy and sustainable development environment. The Japanese government’s plan to discharge nuclear polluted water into the sea is a direct disregard for the sovereignty and self-determination of Pacific countries.
South Korean citizens’ groups recently held large-scale gatherings in Seoul, Busan and other places, expressing strong opposition to Japan’s nuclear pollution water discharge plan. Xu Junlie, honorary professor of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Seoul National University, believes that the Japanese government must disclose the radioactive detection data of all nuclides. Xu Junlie said: "The Pacific Ocean is the common property of the whole world. Japan ignores the better plan and insists on discharging nuclear polluted water into the sea, which is tantamount to a terrorist attack on the ocean, and the Pacific Ocean will no longer be peaceful. If nuclear polluted water flows into the Pacific Ocean, various radioactive substances will cause a fatal blow to the marine ecosystem. "
Robert Richmond, a professor at the Varro Marine Laboratory at the University of Hawaii in the United States, said: "Our task is to protect the ocean and people who depend on it. It is a bad idea to discharge nuclear polluted water into the sea. Japan should consider other options."
(Tokyo, Seoul, Washington, March 23rd)
