China urges Japan to revoke wrong decision of dumping nuclear-contaminated water into sea

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Tuesday urged Japan to revoke its wrong decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea and to stop all preparatory work.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily press briefing, in response to the recent move by Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Company to start undersea excavation work one km off the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The excavation work is in preparation for the construction of an undersea tunnel outlet to dump the contaminated water.

Wang said the littoral countries of the Pacific Ocean including China are seriously concerned with Japan's decision and firmly oppose such practices.

Regardless of the concern from the international community, the company has gone back on its earlier promise to never discharge the water unless the decision gets public support, and forcibly pushed through relevant construction, Wang said. "Such an attempt to result in a fait accompli is irresponsible. The Japanese government should immediately put a hold on it."

Wang said so far, 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.

"We once again urge Japan to attach great importance to the legitimate and reasonable concerns of the international community and people in Japan, revoke the wrong decision to discharge the nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, stop proceeding with the preparatory work, and earnestly implement its due international obligations," Wang added.