People hold placards"oppose the discharge of Fukushima contaminated water into the ocean" during a rally in Seoul, South Korea on July 1. (PHOTO: XINHUA).

By QI Liming

August 24, 2023 may be imprinted in history as the day of disaster for the marine environment. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has asked Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, to release nuclear wastewater into the ocean from Thursday, “weather and ocean condition permitting”, ignoring strong objections from both home and abroad.

It will be a public crime if the discharge goes through and the decision will prove to be extremely unrewarding. The international community can hold Japan accountable indefinitely.

According to Paris-based French TV network France 24, some 1.34 million tonnes of nuclear wastewater, equivalent to almost the water in 540 Olympic pools, will be released into the ocean off Japan’s northeast coast, at a maximum rate of 500 cubic meters per day. The whole gargantuan process is expected to take 30 to 40 years and cost around eight trillion yen (55 billion USD).

Junichi Matsumoto, the TEPCO executive in charge of the water release, told the Associated Press in July that the company plans to release 7,800 tonnes of treated water for 17 days in the first round. By the end of March 2024, the aim is to release 31,200 tonnes. The pace is expected to pick up later.

For one thing, though the Japanese government has promised to carry out tests on samples of water and fish in the immediate aftermath of the release, there is no sound long-term monitoring mechanism. The huge pollution caused by the releasing and the small amount of laboratory data are difficult to simulate as a reference.

For another, the Japanese government appointed TEPCO to be responsible for the releasing of nuclear-contaminated water, but the specific releasing plan and information are not transparent. Furthermore, there is no emergency/alternative plan in case any emergency occurs during this nearly half-century-long releasing.

According to Japanese local media The Japan Times, neither a detailed testing schedule nor information on the exact volume of water slated for daily discharge has been disclosed yet.

The third thing to be noted is that the releasing of the water can never be recollected anymore. Japan's push to release nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean is undoubtedly a gamble at the cost of the global marine environment and the health of mankind. As no one can predict how serious the consequences of this Pandora's box will be, the Japanese government has opened the floodgates like never before in human society.

In addition to these concerns, who will pay the bill for such a long-term releasing? The Japanese government, TEPCO or ultimately the Japanese people? The Japanese government would have to pay far more than it has calculated. Some costs that are not yet visible may be more serious. Though the Japanese government claims that the original intention of the releasing is to save costs, the loss of local fisheries and the damage to marine ecology are incalculable, not to mention the pollution and destruction of other resources.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong summoned the Japanese ambassador to China Hideo Tarumi on August 22 to make solemn representations over the Japanese government's announcement that it would start releasing nuclear-contaminated water on August 24.

Sun said the Fukushima nuclear accident is one of the world's most serious nuclear accidents to date, resulting in the release of a large amount of radioactive material, which has far-reaching implications for the marine environment, food safety, and human health.

"The ocean is the blue home that all humanity depends on for survival, and the Japanese side should not dump nuclear-contaminated water at will," Sun said.