China has asked Japan to take back its “wrong decision” to release more than 1 million tonnes of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Friday urged Japan to be responsible for all humankind and future generations.
China has also summoned Japan’s ambassador over Tokyo’s decision. Assistant foreign minister Wu Jianghao “lodged solemn representations” with ambassador Hideo Tarumi and accused Japan of “suspected violation of international law”, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement. He also said that China reserves the right to make further reactions.
The Japanese government insists the release from the Tsunami hit plant which has stored the large volume of water for years is safe because it has been processed to remove almost all radioactive elements and will be diluted. China criticised Tokyo’s decision as “extremely irresponsible” on Tuesday, complaining the plan would damage public health.
Around 1.25 million tonnes of water have accumulated in tanks at the nuclear plant, which was crippled after going into meltdown following a tsunami in 2011. Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that disposing of the water was an “inevitable task” in the decades-long process of decommissioning the nuclear plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has endorsed the release, which it says is like the disposal of wastewater at nuclear plants elsewhere in the world.
Relations between Japan and China have faltered in recent times over Senkaku islands and larger geo-political situation in the region.
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