China urges Japan to comprehensively address the concerns of the international community, live up to its moral responsibilities and obligations under international law and stop pushing for the ocean discharge of nuclear-contaminated water, China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
According to Japanese media, Japan is considering to start the ocean discharge of Fukushima's nuclear-contaminated water between late August and early September. It is learned that the Japanese government hopes to explain to China the safety of the ocean discharge plan before starting the disposal.
In response to a media query regarding the issue, a spokesperson for the ministry said China "has been and remains opposed to Japan's headstrong push to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea and leave the entire world at risk of nuclear contamination".
Japan needs to find a truly responsible, safe and effective way to deal with the nuclear-contaminated water and subject itself to rigorous international oversight to avert irrevocable damage to the global marine environment and human health, said the spokesperson.
"China's position is objective, fair and based on facts and reason," the spokesperson said, adding that it is for both people's health and a safe global marine environment.
China has engaged Japan bilaterally and multilaterally to repeatedly state the views and concerns from its professional agencies, said the spokesperson.
China and Russia presented three joint lists of technical questions to Japan to demand clarifications regarding its ocean discharge plan based on science and technology and international nuclear safety good practices, the spokesperson added.
Stressing that the safe disposal of the nuclear-contaminated water depends on a serious and responsible attitude and a science-based and comprehensive assessment, the spokesperson said Japan, over the past two years and more, has given little heed to the legitimate concerns and opposition from various quarters and refused to discuss other disposal methods that might be safer, while insisting on initiating the ocean discharge this summer.
"If Japan has any sincerity about alleviating the concerns of its neighbors, it should immediately stop pushing for the discharge," the spokesperson said, urging the country to communicate with other parties without taking the decision in advance and fully discuss all potential options for disposing of the water safely.
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(Cover: People participate in a protest to oppose Japan's decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, Seoul, South Korea, July 15, 2023. /CFP)