BEIJING, Feb 29 — The Chinese embassy in Tokyo has criticised Japan for continuing its water discharge from the Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP), saying it ignores the concerns of both the Japanese people and the international community.
Sputnik reported that Japan started releasing a new batch of treated water from the Fukushima NPP yesterday, in a fourth cycle, which is scheduled to run through March 16. The plant’s operator, TEPCO, plans to release 7,800 tonnes of water into the Pacific Ocean.
“Japan is ignoring the rightful concerns of its population, as well as the objections of the international community and keeps releasing radioactive water into the ocean, putting the whole world at risk of radioactive infection. We express our strong dissatisfaction with this,” the Chinese mission said in a statement today.
China continues to urge Japan to take the domestic and external concerns seriously, to cooperate with other nations in order to create a long-term international monitoring mechanism, and to get rid of the treated water in a “responsible and constructive way”.
The previous three rounds of treated water discharge from the Fukushima NPP were conducted in August, October, and November last year.
Japan started releasing part of the estimated 1.34 million tonnes of Fukushima NPP treated water into the ocean in August, despite an outcry from neighbouring countries and local fishermen.
In total, over 31,000 tonnes of mildly radioactive water will be released during the 2023 fiscal year, which ends on March 31. The entire process is expected to take at least 30 years.
— Bernama
