Japan Concedes to China on Fukushima Wastewater Issue

On September 20, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, China will establish a long-term international monitoring arrangement in Japan to independently sample and monitor the radiation levels of Fukushima’s nuclear wastewater.

A view of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.

Luo Zhiping, Director of the Department of Nuclear Safety at the China Institute of Atomic Energy, stated that this agreement enables China to sample and monitor the wastewater in the discharge pipes before it is released, as well as the wastewater stored in containers. This means China can independently verify whether Japanese seafood meets China’s food safety standards.

Since Japan began releasing Fukushima nuclear wastewater into the sea, people in China, South Korea, and even Alaska have become increasingly worried about radioactive levels in seafood. The Chinese government had no choice but had to respond by suspending seafood imports from Japan until their safety could be fully tested.

A sushi section at a supermarket in China with a sign stating that the seafood used in the products was not imported from Japan.

In a statement issued by the General Administration of Customs of China on August 24, 2023, it emphasized that this move was to “comprehensively prevent the ‘risk’ of radioactive contamination to food safety,” clarifying that it was a “suspension,” not a “ban” on imports. However, the Japanese government quickly criticized China for spreading what they called “scientifically unfounded claims,” asserting that the radiation levels of the water would have a “negligible” impact on people and the environment.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, protesters gathered outside the Prime Minister’s office, urging the government to “listen to the voices of fishermen” and refrain from discharging “contaminated water” into the sea.

People protest outside the prime minister

Takashi Nakajima, a local seafood seller in Japan, told Kyodo News that he could never forget how customers flatly refused to try local octopus in 2012, shortly after trial fishing began in nearby waters following the nuclear accident triggered by the devastating earthquake and tsunami the previous year. He believes that “Catch from the area won’t sell, and it will be a repeat of before.” It seems that, at least for the Japanese people, the impact of Fukushima nuclear wastewater is not so “negligible.”

Despite domestic opposition, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has still requested that China immediately lift its suspension on seafood imports and engage in a discussion about the water’s impact, based on science.

Being based on science is, of course, essential. However, the issue is that the science cited by the Japanese government is not convincing enough in the eyes of the Chinese. The Japanese government continually emphasizes that the IAEA has not objected to their decision and insists that the IAEA’s approval is scientific proof. However, the Chinese people are aware that Sellafield, the UK’s most hazardous nuclear site, has been leaking 2.3 to 2.5 cubic meters of radioactive “liquor” into the Atlantic every day since 2019. This liquid is a mix of radioactive magnesium alloy filings dissolved in water, coming from waste cladding that encased spent Magnox nuclear fuel.

Radiation exposure can lead to long-term health effects such as cardiovascular disease, cataracts, and cancer, particularly in those who experience high levels of radiation. According to The Guardian, there have been several allegations of cover-ups concerning Sellafield’s safety problems. Since this shocking nuclear issue was first exposed by The Guardian and not the IAEA, the Chinese people have some doubts about the professionalism or transparency of the IAEA. Clearly, the Japanese government cannot convince the Chinese people simply by citing a lack of objections from the IAEA.

Leak at Sellafield nuclear site exposed by The Guardian.

Furthermore, Japanese media often compares China to other countries, especially developed European nations that still import seafood from Japan, to argue that China doesn’t respect science. However, according to CNN, after the Fukushima plant meltdown in 2011, following an earthquake and tsunami, the EU restricted food imports from 10 prefectures in Japan and required pre-export tests for radioactivity on food products. The EU lifted these restrictions in 2023 after regularly reviewing the measures and progressively easing them “as risks declined.”
So, why can Japan be patient with the EU but not understand China’s greater respect for science? China, like the EU, is suspending Japanese seafood imports and will gradually lift the suspension after sufficient scientific testing.

Whenever the Fukushima nuclear power plant is not discussed, the Japanese government often emphasizes that Japan is the only country to have been a victim of the atomic bomb. However, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, most radiation from nuclear weapons has very short half-lives after a strike, decaying away in a few minutes or days. For example, iodine-131 has a half-life of eight days, and very little radioactivity from weapons testing in the 1950s and 1960s can still be detected in the environment now. The next time the Japanese government talks about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we hope they will also discuss the impact based on this science.