IRIA News

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi arrived in Japan to visit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on July 4, 2023. Grossi’s visit was aimed at finalizing and presenting the IAEA safety review report about Japan’s plans to release treated but radioactive water from the nuclear power station into the sea.  

The Japanese government has been planning to start releasing the radioactive water from its tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. The United Nation’s nuclear watchdog IAEA has given the green light to the controversial plans, despite the grave concerns raised by several regional actors, especially China.

During his visit to Japan, IAEA Chief Rafael Mariano Grossi met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo. Grossi quoted the IAEA safety review report saying that the discharge of the treated water would have negligible impact on the people and environment.

.@IAEAorg has now finished its assessment of #Japan’s plans to release the water stored at the #Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, confirming the plans to be in line with IAEA safety standards.

🎥 Full video: https://t.co/XW7vTswLnr pic.twitter.com/tUcqi4bW7j

— Rafael MarianoGrossi (@rafaelmgrossi) July 4, 2023

Grossi also visited the Fukushima Daiichi plant during his four-day-long tour. “What is happening is not something exceptional, some strange plan that has been devised only to be applied here, and sold to you,” Grossi said.

“This is, as certified by the IAEA, the general practice that is agreed by and observed in many, many places all over the world,” he said in his opening remarks in Iwaki, about 40 kilometers south of the plant.

Addressing people’s doubts and concerns, Grossi said: “I must admit I don’t have a magic wand, but we do have one thing. We are going to stay here with you for decades to come until the last drop of the water which is accumulated around the reactor has been safely discharged.”

The IAEA Task Force that prepared the safety review report was made up of top specialists from within the Agency advised by internationally recognized nuclear safety experts from eleven countries. The report says that “Based on its comprehensive assessment, the IAEA has concluded that the approach and activities to the discharge of ALPS treated water taken by Japan are consistent with relevant international safety standards.”

Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is a disabled power plant located in Japan’s Fukushima prefecture. The plant suffered major infrastructural damage during the March 2011 tsunami which destroyed the unit’s cooling system and triggered one of the worst nuclear disasters since the Chornobyl incident. The Fukushima plant is filled up with more than 1.3 million tons of radioactive nuclear wastewater, enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

In April 2021, Japanese authorities announced that they have used an advanced liquid processing system (ALPS) to extract contaminations from the water and plan to release the water into the Pacific Ocean.

Just met with mayors, fishermen associations, and local groups in #Fukushima. Your concerns are key to @IAEAorg’s work.
We’re here to listen, explain, and ensure safety—and we’ll stay here true to our commitment before, during, and after treated water discharge. pic.twitter.com/EZ1op9Bk26

— Rafael MarianoGrossi (@rafaelmgrossi) July 5, 2023

The announcement encountered fierce resistance from Japan’s neighboring countries, especially from China, South Korea, North Korea, Taiwan, and Pacific Island nations, as well as the fishing communities in the Fukushima region which fear for their livelihood and regional environment.

China’s reaction  

Beijing has been the most vocal opposition against Tokyo’s controversial decision. China’s Foreign Ministry rejected IAEA’s review report and said that it cannot be served as a “shield” or “green light” for Japan’s discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean.

The ministry said that the report is biased and failed to reflect the opinions of all experts involved in the evaluation work. It further added that Japan has received help from all over the world for more than 12 years to contain the nuclear disaster. Today, however, the country chose to transfer the risk of nuclear contamination to all mankind.

Despite the severe backlash from its neighbors, Japan is expected to start the discharging process as early as next month. The process is expected to take several decades to complete.