Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin Photo: mfa.gov.cn

As Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) recently initiated a damage assessment and compensation for victims affected by the dumping of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that Japan must engage in sincere consultations with relevant stakeholders, especially neighboring countries, and promptly establish a comprehensive, effective and independent long-term monitoring mechanism.

On November 2, TEPCO initiated the third round of dumping. The Japanese government has announced that the amount of nuclear wastewater dumped into the sea in the previous two instances was 7,788 tons and 7,810 tons, respectively.

Three months later, the Japanese government launched the dumping plan TEPCO has moved to initiate damage recognition and compensation for victims of the plan.

The ocean is a common property of all humanity. Japan's strong push to dump nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea not only harms itself but also poses significant risks to other countries, especially neighboring nations, said the Chinese Embassy in Japan on Friday. Japan should stop transferring the risk of nuclear pollution to the world and engage in sincere communication with relevant stakeholders, the embassy said.

During Tuesday's press conference, Chinese FM spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that the dumping of contaminated water into the ocean is a matter concerning the health of all humanity, the global marine environment and international public interests.

Japan should not only take the concerns of its domestic population seriously but also acknowledge the strong concerns of the international community, especially neighboring countries, Wang said. Japan should communicate with relevant stakeholders in a responsible and constructive manner and seriously address their legitimate demands for damage assessment and compensation.

Japan must engage in sincere consultations with relevant stakeholders, especially neighboring countries, and promptly establish a comprehensive, effective and independent long-term monitoring mechanism to prevent irreversible consequences caused by the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, Wang said.

Commenting on Japan's plan of dumping nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea, Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, urged that it "must be handled carefully with in-depth coordination with neighboring countries and the international community" as it concerns the marine ecological environment and the safety of people's lives during his speech at the 2023 International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province on July 3.

Global Times