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China Accused of ‘Hypocrisy’ as Japan Set to Release Fukushima Wastewater
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((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Japan China Fukushima Dispute (TV)
HEADLINE: China Accused of ‘Hypocrisy’ as Japan Set to Release Fukushima Wastewater
TEASER: Beijing imposes restrictions on Japanese seafood imports as Tokyo prepares to release wastewater into Pacific Ocean
PUBLISHED AT:08/08/2023 at 12:30pm
BYLINE: Henry Ridgwell
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Tokyo
VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Ridgwell
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: pcd
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA, APTN, Reuters, AFP, Zoom
PLATFORMS: WEB _X_ TV _X_ RADIO _x_
TRT: 3:24
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO))
[[Japanese media report that the country is due to start releasing wastewater used to cool the crippled reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant as soon as the end of August, after consultations with the United States and South Korea. Three reactors at the site went into meltdown after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. China has criticized the planned release and imposed restrictions on Japanese seafood imports – prompting accusations of hypocrisy, as Henry Ridgwell reports from Tokyo.]]
((NARRATOR))
More than one thousand giant tanks surround the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, holding more 1.3 million metric tons of wastewater used to cool the reactors. Most radioactive contaminants have been removed – but the water still contains the radioactive element tritium, explains American scientist Paul Dickman, an advisor to the Japanese government.
((Paul Dickman, U.S. Nuclear Advisor to Japanese Government)) ((cf. Zoom))
“It is natural, it's in everything we eat, drink and breathe actually. Anything that has water in it has tritium in it. So, all nuclear reactors produce, as a byproduct, small amounts of tritium. And the way that you deal with this - and we have, constantly - is to discharge this either in through evaporation into the air or discharge it into a water body.”
((NARRATOR))
Japan plans to release the wastewater over several years, diluting the tritium concentration until the water quality exceeds drinking water standards.
((OPT OUT))
The plan was approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency last month. But it has provoked anger from some environmental groups.
Fishing communities – like those at Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market – also fear their livelihoods will be hit.
((Tomohisa Yoshimura, Dried Bonito Seller (in Japanese) ))
“The Japanese brand will decline. People will ask, is it being properly checked?”
((FOR RADIO: Tomohisa Yoshimura, who sells dried bonito in the market, says the Japanese brand will decline. People will ask if the food is being properly checked, he says.))
((Matao Saito, Tuna trader (in Japanese)))
“I'm worried about how other countries see it. I think that there are harmful rumors in Japan.”
((FOR RADIO: Tuna trader Matao Saito worries about how other countries see the plan. He believes there are harmful rumors circulating in Japan.))
((OPT IN))
((NARRATOR))
The majority of scientists say the plan is safe. But some of Japan’s neighbors, especially China, have strongly criticized the move, imposing restrictions on Japanese seafood imports.
((Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson (in Mandarin)))
“Our opposition to Japan's ocean discharge plan and the relevant measures we are taking are well grounded.”
((FOR RADIO: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters last month that China’s opposition to Japan's ocean discharge plan and the relevant measures Beijing is taking are well grounded.))
((NARRATOR))
Nuclear power stations across the world – including many in China – constantly dispose of tritium into the sea. Beijing does not publish figures of how much it releases into the oceans.
((FOR RADIO: Again, U.S. nuclear scientist and advisor to the Japanese government, Paul Dickman.))
((Paul Dickman, U.S. Nuclear Advisor to Japanese Government)) ((cf. Zoom))
“So, there is a point of hypocrisy here. They're accusing Japanese of doing what they do. The regulatory authorities both in Korea and China - who I think are pretty good - were quiet. They were silent on this. And yet they are authorizing their own companies and their own reactors to discharge into the sea every day.”
((Mandatory courtesy: Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
((Mandatory: YouTube))
((NARRATOR))
Meanwhile Japan is conducting a public communications campaign – through animated films and advertising – even live streaming a video of fish living in a tank of treated wastewater.
((Henry Ridgwell, VOA News (standup version)) ((NARRATOR))
“Here in Tokyo’s giant Tsukiji fish market, the stallholders are confident over the safety of their seafood. But this isn’t just about science. Japan is in a political and public relations battle with some of its biggest Asian buyers.”
((Henry Ridgwell for VOA News, Tokyo))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
