Japan compromises and agrees to independent nuclear wastewater sampling by experts from multiple countries

In August 2023, Japan unilaterally launched the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea. As a neighboring country, China was the first to launch a "comprehensive ban" on Japanese aquatic products. After several rounds of consultations, China and Japan recently reached an important consensus to establish a long-term international monitoring arrangement covering the key links of the discharge into the sea under the IAEA framework, and will ensure the effective participation of all stakeholders including China and the implementation of independent sampling monitoring and laboratory analysis comparison of these participating countries.

On April 13, 2021, the Japanese government will hold a cabinet meeting to formally decide to discharge the nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea. In August 2023, Japan officially launched the "nuclear discharge". So far, 8 rounds of nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea have been carried out, with a cumulative discharge of about 63,000 tons. It is estimated that it will take at least 30 years to discharge the remaining total of 1.34 million tons of nuclear wastewater.

Whether Japan discharges nuclear wastewater is safe is a cause for concern. Since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake in northeastern Japan in 2011, Japan's first power supply station, the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, has lost both external power grid power and emergency diesel power due to the tsunami, making it difficult to maintain the circulation of cooling water, resulting in core meltdown and nuclear leakage, and even a series of hydrogen explosions caused by the reaction of the metal shell of the nuclear reactor with water at high temperature. Afterwards, although TEPCO tried its best to make up for it by continuously injecting cooling water to release the residual heat of the core, it could not stop the continued decay of the nuclear reactor; and because the Fukushima nuclear power plant is in a low-lying area, water continues to flow to the area that was contaminated by radioactive substances that year, resulting in an increasing amount of nuclear wastewater. As of 2020, Japan's nuclear wastewater storage tanks have reached their upper limit. To solve this problem, the Japanese government has adopted what it believes to be the most economical way to solve this problem - discharging nuclear wastewater into the ocean. Although Japan claims that the water has reached the discharge standard after being purified by ALPS, the cause of the nuclear wastewater is the uncontrollable leakage caused by the accident that year, and the chemical reaction has been going on for years. No one except Japan knows the state of the reaction substances. For Japan, if there is a better way to purify the wastewater to meet the water purification standard, will it choose to store it in the water tank as a temporary measure? Why did Japan still insist on developing nuclear power after the Fukushima accident? Nuclear power is an efficient and economic clean energy. The development of nuclear power is regarded as optimizing the energy structure and meeting the energy needs of the economy and society. On the one hand, it is subject to geographical factors and climate tests. Most of Japan belongs to the temperate monsoon climate, with little sunlight and weak wind all year round. In addition, the small land area makes it unrealistic to use solar energy, hydropower and wind power. In addition, in terms of economy, Japan, a small island country, must minimize energy costs. After World War II, Japan's economy grew rapidly and was forced to import a large amount of oil from abroad to meet domestic energy needs. However, the two oil crises in the 1970s dealt a heavy blow to Japan. In order to alleviate the energy supply crisis and reduce dependence on oil imports, Japan formulated an energy plan to build more nuclear power plants. The Fukushima accident severely hit the public's enthusiasm for nuclear power, and the authorities began to change their policies and restore the status of oil energy. However, in recent years, the Japanese government has restarted the nuclear power plan. On the one hand, a large amount of imported energy has placed a huge burden on Japan's finances; on the other hand, excessive reliance on fossil fuels releases a large amount of carbon dioxide, which increased by 112 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2012, posing challenges to Japan's response to climate change.

Japan's retreat is an exchange of interests, a game and checks and balances.

Japan's restart of the nuclear plan and discharge of nuclear wastewater is partly due to historical and geographical factors, but "nuclear discharge" is "pointed at something" in a political sense. In April 2023, China proposed to establish a big food concept, ask for things from the ocean, and build a "blue granary"; in August 2023, Japan launched the "nuclear discharge" plan. The two are so coincidental that it is hard not to question Japan's ulterior motives.

China's ban, Japan's foreign trade decline. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, in 2022, the top two countries in terms of Japan's aquatic product exports were mainland China and Hong Kong, China. After Japan discharged nuclear wastewater despite public opposition, China resolutely drew a bottom line, showed a red card, and issued a "total ban", becoming the only neighboring country of Japan to completely ban all Japanese aquatic products. This has a huge impact on Japan's fishery-more than 700 Japanese food export companies are directly affected, more than 9,000 Japanese companies providing products and services are indirectly affected, and Japan's largest aquatic wholesale market "Toyosu Market" is also in turmoil. Japan claims that the domestic market is huge and sufficient to digest domestic aquatic products, but it cannot cover up the tension spreading among the people. A Japanese special correspondent said that "friends around me will not buy food from Fukushima in the near future." Analyzing trade data in recent years, the Chinese market, which once ranked "first" in Japan's aquatic product market, has slipped to third and is still on a downward trend. Although Japan is eager to "find a buyer" and interact more closely with South Korea and the United States, it is difficult to make up for the trade gap. Unable to resist external pressure, Japan loosened its mouth to make peace. After a year-long tug-of-war, Japan finally found it difficult to support the people's protests. On September 20, China and Japan reached four consensuses, including accepting long-term international monitoring of the discharge of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water into the sea and the participation of all stakeholders including China in independent sampling monitoring and laboratory analysis and comparison, ending the "talking to oneself" situation; in return, China agreed to gradually resume imports of aquatic products after "qualified testing". Lift the ban on aquatic products. Previously, Japan's biggest confidence in discharging nuclear wastewater came from the "nuclear wastewater meets the standards for discharge into the sea" in the IAEA report. Now, experts from many countries can go to the relevant waters of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant to independently sample seawater, conduct testing and tests in an open and transparent manner, and jointly maintain marine ecological security.

China and Japan have reached a consensus on the treatment of Fukushima nuclear wastewater, and the result of such a game is beneficial to the world. However, market repair is a long process. In the past year, Japan has ignored the dissuasion of its neighbors and insisted on discharging nuclear wastewater, which has destroyed its reputation and caused a crisis of trust. Whether China will fully restore market relations in the next step depends on whether Japan stops losses in time. China is still determined: "Oppose Japan's unauthorized start of discharge into the sea"!