China, Japan tensions rise over contaminated Fukushima water treatment
Japan’s neighbours expressed concern on Tuesday after Tokyo announced plans to release the Fukushima nuclear reactor’s contaminated water into the sea post-treatment.
The Japanese government said it would release over 1m tonnes of water from the closed nuclear station into the sea starting in 2023.
Officials said that Tokyo Electric Power would filter the water to remove harmful elements with the first release scheduled for in two years' time in order to give the company enough time to purify it.
The project was expected to last decades before completion.
China, Taiwan and South Korea opposed the plan and wanted further consultations, reported Reuters.
“This action is extremely irresponsible, and will seriously damage international public health and safety, and the vital interests of people in neighbouring countries,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.
South Korea expressed “serious concerns that the decision could bring a direct and indirect impact on the safety of our people and surrounding environment”, adding that it would step up its own radiological measuring and monitoring.
In response, Tokyo argued that the plan was necessary to continue decommissioning the power plant and that other countries routinely carry out the same process to filter water that is then released into the sea.
The nuclear station was shutdown following a natural disaster in 2011 caused by an earthquake and a tsunami.