Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Friday expounded on the agreement reached between China and Japan on the latter's discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean.
The agreement was released on Friday by the ministry, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry saying that China is firmly opposed to this irresponsible move, and has urged Japan to seriously address the concerns in and outside Japan.
At a regular press briefing in Beijing, Mao reiterated China's opposition to Japan's discharge of the nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean.
"On August 24, 2023, in disregard of the strong criticism and opposition from the international community, the Japanese government unilaterally started the discharge of the nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean. As one of the most important stakeholders, China is firmly opposed to this irresponsible move. In accordance with the spirit of the leaders of the two countries on resolving the issue of the ocean discharge of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water through consultations and negotiations, China has conducted over 10 rounds of intensive negotiations and consultations with Japan and relevant international organizations. After unremitting efforts, we reached the agreement which was released today. I would like to stress the following points," said Mao.
"Firstly, China is firmly opposed to Japan's unilateral ocean discharge of the nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, and the position has been consistent. The release of the agreement between China and Japan aims to urge the Japanese side to fulfill its obligations under international law and assume primary responsibility for safety supervision, do its utmost to avoid leaving negative impact on human health and the environment, and effectively guard against potential risks from the discharge. We hope that the international community, especially the stakeholder countries, can work with China to strictly supervise Japan's fulfillment of its commitments," she said.
"Secondly, due to the limits of the existing relevant international mechanism, the current evaluation and supervision on the ocean discharge of the unclear-contaminated water are incomplete and short of transparency and credibility, and need to be further improved and strengthened. In particular, a long-term international monitoring arrangement that covers all steps of the discharge should be established to make sure all the stakeholders including China can participate in it and conduct independent sampling and monitoring. Only in this way can comprehensive, true and effective data be collected to make sure the risks of the discharge are controllable. China and Japan have reached an agreement on this through negotiations. In the next phase, we will discuss technical details such as the monitoring of types of nuclides and methods of monitoring, so as to achieve a comprehensive, effective and credible long-term international monitoring," said the spokeswoman.
"Thirdly, how to properly dispose of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water is not only a political issue, but also a scientific one. The agreement between China and Japan has laid a foundation for the scientific, effective and safe disposal of the nuclear-contaminated water by the international community, and is a phased outcome jointly achieved by the international community, especially the stakeholders. China will continue to work with the international community, especially the stakeholders, in the spirit of being highly responsible for the global marine ecological environment and people's health, and adopt a science-based attitude to engage in dialogue with Japan and urge it to properly address concerns over the ocean discharge of the nuclear-contaminated water," said Mao.
"Fourthly, China's suspension of all imports of aquatic products originating in Japan, including edible aquatic animals, is an emergency preventive and temporary measure taken in accordance with relevant Chinese laws and regulations and relevant WTO rules, with the purpose of comprehensively guarding against risks and protecting people's health. The adoption of this measure is rule-based and reflects the sense of responsibility of the Chinese government to its people. The agreement reached between China and Japan does not mean that China will immediately resume imports of all Japanese aquatic products. China will continue to follow the WTO rules and Chinese laws and regulations, use scientific facts as the yardstick and take safety as the premise to adjust relevant measures based on science and facts after effectively participating in relevant monitoring activities, conducting independent sampling and confirming the results. We will carry out technical consultations with the Japanese side, and gradually resume the import of Japanese aquatic products that meet the regulations and standards on the premise that China's requirements are fully met. Relevant consultation results and policy adjustments will be announced to the public in a timely manner," she continued.
FM Spokeswoman on agreement between China, Japan on ocean discharge of nuclear-contaminated water
