China urges Japan not to dump contaminated water from Fukushima nuclear power plant into sea

Pacific Rim countries including China have all voiced grave concern and firm opposition to Japan discharging contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear accident into the ocean, China said on Tuesday.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a routine press briefing in Beijing after the Tokyo Electric Power Company began undersea excavation in preparation for an undersea tunnel outlet to dump the contaminated water.

About 180,000 Japanese people have signed a petition demanding that the Japanese government replace the ocean discharge plan, Wang said.

“Pacific Rim countries, China included, have all voiced grave concern over and firm opposition to Japan’s erroneous decision of discharging contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear accident into the ocean,” he said.

The company had turned a deaf ear to international concern and walked back its earlier commitment not to discharge water, the ministry spokesperson noted.

“The Japanese government has been unable to offer a thorough and convincing explanation on issues ranging from the legitimacy of the ocean discharge option to the reliability of relevant data, the efficacy of the treatment system and the uncertainty of environmental impact,” Wang said. “We urge Japan to take seriously the legitimate and reasonable concerns of the international community and the Japanese people and revoke its wrong decision of dumping the nuclear contaminated water into the sea.”

Japan should “stop pushing forward preparation for the ocean discharge and earnestly fulfill its due international obligations,” he said.