Natural and man-made disasters continue, and Japan’s nuclear wastewater discharge continue to lead to the collapse of public trust.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) just concluded a new round of investigation into Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant on April 26th, and the report is expected to be released in a few months.
On the same day, a large number of demonstrators holding cards gathered in Tokyo to protest against the fifth round of nuclear wastewater discharge.
Some of the demonstrators said: “From the perspective of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), there seems to be a lack of crisis awareness and crisis management. I think Tokyo Electric Power Company is irresponsible,” one said.
From August 2023, since the discharge of water into the sea began, accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant have continued, and people in Japan and abroad have continued to protest against the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea. However, the Japanese government and TEPCO are still determined to start the fifth discharge of pollutants, causing widespread concern.
According to Japanese media reports, TEPCO began discharging nuclear-contaminated water
from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean for the fifth time on April 19. The emissions are expected to last until May 7, with a total of about 7,800 tons of nuclear-contaminated water. This is TEPCO’s first nuclear-contaminated water discharge in fiscal year 2024. TEPCO previously announced that it plans to discharge approximately 54,600 tons of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean in seven instalments this fiscal year, which will be nearly twice the amount in 2023.
Japan is located in the earthquake zone with the most earthquakes in the world. In the first few months of 2024 alone, many strong earthquakes have occurred in Fukushima Prefecture, Iwate Prefecture, and Ehime Prefecture. Around the epic centres of these earthquakes, there are Nuclear Power Plants. In the early morning of March 15, a magnitude 5.5-earthquake occurred offshore Fukushima. Workers at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant used manual methods to urgently suspend the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water. Just two days before TEPCO started its fifth discharge of nuclear-contaminated water, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake occurred in the sea west of Shikoku Island in Japan. The nearby Ikata Nuclear Power Plant malfunctioned and caused a drop in power generation.
In addition to earthquakes, many operating accidents have occurred at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in the past year, which can be described as a constant stream of natural and man-made disasters.
According to reports, in October 2023, while cleaning the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS)pipeline, four workers wearing protective equipment were sprayed with liquid containing radioactive materials when a water pipe broke. Two of the employees’ skins were contaminated and had to be hospitalized for treatment, sparking public concern that the nuclear wastewater discharged from Fukushima still contains strong radioactivity. As for the total amount of waste liquid splashed in the accident, the data released by TEPCO differed by dozens of times. Asahi Shimbun of Japan commented on this, saying that the Japanese people’s distrust of Tepco is deeper than its nuclear-contaminated water storage tanks.
The most recent accident was in February 2024, when the operator forgot to close the manual gate, causing water containing radioactive materials to leak out for about 40 minutes. The main cause of this accident was insufficient information sharing between the operation and maintenance departments, resulting in the actual operation being different from the reference manual.
Fukushima Prefecture is worried about TEPCO’s safety management lapses this time. Reiko Hachisuka, president of the Okuma Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Fukushima Prefecture, harshly criticized this month.
“Currently, the world is paying attention to the issue of Japan discharging treated water into the ocean. It is very unfortunate that TEPCO is irresponsible for this issue.” Japanese media NHK quoted experts as saying that Japanese officials need to take strict supervision measures to ensure that no major mistakes are made.
Although the Japanese authorities have also stated that they will intervene in supervision in order to restart the nuclear power policy as soon as possible to solve the current dilemma of rising imported fuel prices, the Fukushima nuclear accident was improperly handled and the aftermath made the Japanese people worried about the future of Fukushima and the so-called supervision of the Japanese authorities. The Mainichi-Japan Daily News recently released the latest poll last month, which showed that 45% of Japanese people opposed restarting nuclear power plants, exceeding the 36% who supported the move. In the past two years of opinion polls, the support rate for restarting nuclear power was higher than the opposition rate. In addition, poll results also show that the approval rate of Kishida Fumio’s cabinet is still very low, only 17%, and has remained below 20% for two consecutive months. On April 24, representatives of Japanese non-profit organizations also submitted 184,712 signatures from people to the Japanese government, calling on the government and TEPCO to immediately stop discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the sea.
Outside of Japan, the fifth discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea triggered the World’s first radical environmental action on this matter. On April 29, a white man sneaked into the Japanese Embassy in the Republic of Palau, hung a protest banner with “Stop Radiological Terrorism” and poured an unknown red liquid mixture, causing surrounding residents to watch.
On the same day, Komura Masahiro, the political officer of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visited Palau.
Countries surrounding Japan and the Pacific coast have long expressed dissatisfaction. In February this year, the Indonesian environmental protection group, Ekomarin, filed a lawsuit against TEPCO in the Central District Court of Jakarta, claiming that its nuclear-contaminated water discharge will directly affect Indonesia’s ecosystem.
In March, when the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of South Korea conducted radioactive testing on imported products, 1 becq of cesium per kilogram was detected in a candy produced in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, prompting the relevant importer to cancel the original import of 122 kilograms of the candy. Obviously, the impact of nuclear contamination on the safety of imported food is no longer just saying.
“Japan’s plan to discharge radioactive waste into the Pacific Ocean is not only a nuclear safety issue, but also related to the marine environment, fisheries, public health and the interests of future generations.” Previously, Puna, Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum, issued a statement on this.
Mong Palatino, Secretary-General of the New Patriotic Alliance of the Philippines, questioned: If the nuclear-contaminated water is really safe, why does Japan not choose to recycle it? Reuse instead of discharging into the ocean? He called on the countries along the Pacific to unite closely and jointly resist Japan’s dangerous actions.
The ocean is the common home of mankind, and the issue of nuclear contaminated water disposal is not just Japan’s domestic issue. The Japanese government should uphold a scientific attitude, fulfill its international obligations, and respond appropriately and take practical actions to the serious concerns of the international community, neighbouring countries and its own citizens.