TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Japan’s neighbors responded with mixed reactions to the news that the United Nations (UN) nuclear agency approved of Tokyo’s plans to dump treated radioactive wastewater from the defunct Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean.
On Friday (July 7), China’s customs administration said it would impose an import ban on products from Fukushima and nine other prefectures in northern Japan for safety reasons. The Chinese government has criticized the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), saying their decision did not reflect the consensus of all parties involved, reported RTI.
At a press conference on Friday (July 7), IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi hinted that there were some internal disagreements on the panel of experts that toured the Fukushima site this week and made a final review of Japan’s proposal. Some media reports indicated that among experts from 11 countries that comprised the panel, representatives of China were likely the ones voicing opposition to the proposal.
In contrast to China’s criticisms, Japan’s nearest neighbor, South Korea said it supported the assessment of the IAEA, which, after two years, determined that the disposal method meets international standards, reported RTI. Seoul issued its own review of Japan’s proposal and found that the release of the waste water into the Pacific Ocean will have no “meaningful impact” on South Korea’s territorial waters, despite public demonstrations in Seoul opposing the plan.
Japan hopes to begin disposing of the waste water this summer. The waste water will be heavily diluted at a special treatment facility before being pumped 1 km offshore and dumped via underwater tunnel, per AP.
