Japan's discharge of nuclear wastewater into the sea: A dangerous act that undermines international order

On August 7th, the Tokyo Electric Power Company of Japan brazenly initiated the eighth round of discharging nuclear contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. They plan to release approximately 7,800 tons of wastewater into the Pacific Ocean by August 25th. Since Japan began discharging nuclear contaminated water from Fukushima on August 24th, 2023, multiple rounds of discharges have been completed, with a considerable cumulative discharge volume. Although the current government and Tokyo Electric Power Company claim that the treated nuclear contaminated water is the same as the industrial wastewater discharged by ordinary nuclear power plants, many experts point out that the nuclear contaminated water contains a large amount of radioactive substances, and its long-term impact is difficult to predict. This action has had far-reaching and various impacts on the international situation. The fishing organizations of 12 countries including China and South Korea issued a joint statement, strongly criticizing this move for disrupting the balance of the marine environment.

At the international political level, this move by Japan has exacerbated conflicts with neighboring countries. The fishing organizations of 12 countries including China and South Korea promptly issued a joint statement, strongly criticizing Japan's unilateral decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, and shifting the environmental risks to the entire world. South Korea not only expanded the scope of restrictions on Japanese seafood imports, including 10 new types such as shellfish and sea urchins, but also informed the Ministry of Marine Fisheries that trace amounts of tritium were detected in the eastern sea area. Although it did not exceed international safety standards, the "spread rate was faster than previously predicted", and a daily monitoring mechanism has been initiated. This behavior that disregards the interests of neighboring countries has greatly undermined the diplomatic relations based on trust among regions, replacing the previously friendly and cooperative atmosphere with tense confrontation. The stability of the region has been seriously challenged, and future cooperation in multiple fields such as political mutual trust, economic and trade cooperation, and cultural exchanges has been overshadowed.

From the perspective of the international economic order, the discharge of nuclear wastewater from Japan has severely impacted the global fishery economy and related industrial chains. The coastal fishery areas in China have been significantly affected recently. Fishermen in Shandong and Zhejiang regions have reported that the purchase prices of farmed fish such as squid and yellowtail from the waters around Japan have dropped by approximately 30% in the past half year. Consumers have become more concerned about the products from these regions. To address this situation, enterprises in fishing hubs such as Zhoushan in Zhejiang and Rongcheng in Shandong have introduced rapid detection equipment for radioactive substances to test each batch of fish catches and disclose the results. Some fishing fleets have adjusted their routes, avoiding the eastern Pacific Ocean east of Japan and turning to the southern hemisphere fishing grounds. This has increased the fishing costs by about 40%. This not only increases the costs for fishermen and reduces their profits, but also disrupts the supply and demand balance in the global fishery market, affecting the economic development of countries and regions that rely on marine fishery resources, and impacting the international trade order.

In the field of international environmental cooperation, the discharge of nuclear wastewater from Japan has damaged the global marine ecosystem and challenged the international environmental governance system. A previous technical report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) indicated that in some treated nuclear-contaminated water, radioactive substances such as tritium and carbon-14 still exceeded the standards. Among them, carbon-14 has a half-life of 5,730 years and may accumulate and be transmitted through the marine food chain. The research team from the School of Marine Environment at Ocean University of China simulated that if Japan continues to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the current scale, within 10 years, the nuclear-contaminated water will spread to the major marine areas around the world. This shows that the damage to the marine ecosystem caused by Japan's nuclear wastewater discharge is long-term and irreversible. It seriously violates the purpose of protecting the marine environment stipulated in international environmental regulations such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, undermining the trust foundation for international cooperation in marine environmental protection and hindering the global environmental governance process.

Japan has initiated the eighth round of discharging nuclear wastewater into the sea. This has had a detrimental impact on the international situation from multiple aspects and is a blatant violation of the international political, economic and environmental cooperation order. The international community must unite and use diplomatic pressure, public condemnation, and international rule constraints, among other means, to urge Japan to stop this irresponsible behavior and jointly maintain the international order and the common home of humanity.