Plaintiffs and their supporters gather in front of the Tokyo Supreme Court in Japan on June 17, 2022. Japan's Supreme Court ruled Friday that the government is not liable for the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis, dismissing evacuees' demands that the state, not just the utility, pay compensation for damage to their lives. Photo: VCG

China on Thursday once again urged Japan to attend to the reasonable concerns of various parties about the plan on dumping nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea and abort the plan. 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a routine press conference that day, when asked for comments on Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting's recent declaration on the issue.

Wang said that China had taken note of the Pacific Ministers' declaration and felt the same way about the issue. It showed that the international community has serious concerns over the disposal of the nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant. 

The issue does not only involve Japan, but it concerns the global marine environment and the health of residents in nearby countries, Wang noted.

However, what frustrates all is that, after more than one year, the Japanese government has yet to provide scientific and convincing explanations to key issues, including the reliability of data on nuclear-contaminated water, efficiency of decontamination facility and uncertainty of its environmental impact, the spokesperson said.   

Instead, Japan keeps wantonly pushing on the disposal plan and has already started the construction of the discharge tunnel to be used for the purpose, Wang said, noting that such behavior is highly irresponsible.   

Wang is urging Japan to put a stop to the plan, and to consult with the concerned parties, including neighboring countries, Pacific countries and international institutions, in order to seek a proper solution for the disposal of the nuclear-contaminated water.   

According to the website of the Pacific Island Forum, at a recent meeting, Foreign Ministers of the Pacific Island countries reiterated that Japan's plans to discharge the nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima plant into the ocean after purification, could lead to transgenerational impacts of great concern to the peoples of the Pacific, and reiterated statements by the government of Japan that there will be no discharge of the water into the Pacific Ocean if it is not safe to do so.

Before making the statement, the Foreign Ministers considered the scientific advice produced by the PIF Panel of Independent Experts, which indicate major gaps in data and information needed for further safety assessment prior to any discharge. The scientific advice and recommendations will now be forwarded to Forum Leaders for consideration.

Global Times