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Japan to dump Fukushima waste water on Thursday, as China slams ‘extremely selfish’ move

  • The release has drawn strong criticism from China and sparked protests in South Korea, despite the UN’s nuclear watchdog approving the plan
  • Critics have expressed scepticism over the safety of discharging more than 1 million tonnes of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean

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An aerial view of storage tanks used to hold treated waste water from Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture. Photo: Jiji Press/AFP
Julian RyallandAgencies
Japan will start releasing more than 1 million tonnes of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant on Thursday, putting into motion a plan that has drawn strong regional criticism.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced the decision at a ministerial meeting on Tuesday morning. He vowed to make the utmost effort to dispose of the treated water and decommission the wrecked plant safely: “The government will take full responsibility, even if it takes decades.”

The long-telegraphed plan has been sharply criticised by Japan’s neighbours South and North Korea, China and various Pacific nations.

Fishing boats line up at a port in Soma, Fukushima prefecture. Local fishing groups say they fear reputational damage and a threat to their livelihood. Photo: Kyodo News via AP
Fishing boats line up at a port in Soma, Fukushima prefecture. Local fishing groups say they fear reputational damage and a threat to their livelihood. Photo: Kyodo News via AP

China on Tuesday slammed Japan’s decision, saying it “transferred the risk of nuclear contamination to the world”.

“This action is extremely selfish and irresponsible,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

The water release also has been the subject of intense domestic scrutiny. Local fishing groups say they fear reputational damage and a threat to their livelihood as a result of the plan, which Japan first approved two years ago.

“Nothing about the water release is beneficial to us,” third-generation fisherman Haruo Ono, 71, said in Shinchimachi, 60km (40 miles) north of the nuclear plant.

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