Recently, the Japanese government preliminarily decided to discharge nuclear waste from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese government will hold a cabinet meeting on April 13 at the earliest to formally announce the above decision.

The Science magazine once wrote that the treated nuclear wastewater contains a variety of radioactive components, such as the isotope tritium and the isotope carbon-14. These radioactive materials are easily absorbed by marine life and are potentially toxic to humans.

The calculation results of a marine scientific research institute located in Germany show that radioactive materials will spread to most of the Pacific Ocean within two months (57 days) from the date of discharge, and that the United States and Canada will be nuclearly contaminated in three years.

After the news came out, the media in Asia-Pacific countries such as South Korea paid attention to it. However, as of today, the South Korean government has not yet expressed its position on the matter.

In October last year, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on the Japanese government’s decision to discharge Fukushima nuclear waste into the sea, that the South Korean government requires the Japanese government to disclose information related to nuclear waste treatment, strictly abide by the environmental standards required by the international community, and strengthen objective and transparent supervision measures that the international community participates in.

Asia Pacific becomes more sensitive

Will the Japanese government make a formal decision this time to discharge nuclear waste into the sea? Which Asia-Pacific countries will be affected the most? How will the aquaculture industry in the Asia-Pacific region be affected? What will the countries have to deal with?

As a close neighbor of Japan, South Korea is more sensitive to this matter. As soon as the news broke, mainstream Korean media reported it immediately.

Jiang Haoqiu, a Korean professor in the Department of International Politics and Economics of the Northeast Asian College of Shandong University, said in an interview with a reporter from China Business News that at present, the Korean academic circles have more consistent views on Japan’s discharge of nuclear waste into the sea. The academic community believes that within a year, the nuclear waste from Japan will first flow into the East China Sea basin of South Korea, and then flow into the waters of Jeju Island (South China Sea) and the West Sea of ​​South Korea following the tide.

According to South Korean media reports, if Japan discharges nuclear waste into the ocean, the polluted seawater will reach Jeju Island in South Korea after 220 days and the west coast of South Korea after 400 days.

“Japan’s discharge of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea will directly affect the health of Korean people.” Jiang Haoqiu said, “because some fish are migratory fish and live together in the seas of Japan and South Korea. After these fish come into contact with nuclear wastewater, the radioactive components in the nuclear wastewater will It quickly spread to the overall marine food chain, endangering the safety of seafood.”

Yan Jae-sik, chairman of the Korean Nuclear Safety Commission, once stated that the contamination of water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea will inevitably lead to the proliferation of radioactive tritium in the ocean.

With regard to the proliferation of radioactive materials in the ocean, other countries in the Pacific region have also responded. According to Philippine media reports, the Nuclear Research Institute of the Philippine Ministry of Science and Technology discovered in December last year that radioactive materials in the West Philippine Sea are on the rise, and an abnormal concentration of iodine 129 has been isolated from the body of coral polyps.

The Philippine Senate said that the country needs to further investigate the source of these radioactive materials to protect the health of its citizens.

In an interview with reporters, Wang Qin, a professor at the School of International Relations and Nanyang Research Institute of Xiamen University, said that the Philippines have detected a sudden increase in nuclear radiation in seawater, and the relationship with Japan’s discharge of nuclear waste water cannot be ruled out. “Philippine experts have repeatedly called on major international powers to stop Japan’s irresponsible behavior,” he said.

However, according to Wang Qin’s observation, data from his research institute shows that if looking at the Southeast Asian countries as a whole, the government, enterprises and people in the region do not seem to react too strongly, the reason may be that these countries are relatively far away from Japan.

How is the aquaculture industry affected in the Asia-Pacific region

After the nuclear leak occurred 10 years ago, in order to control the temperature of the reactor, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, belonging to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, injected a large amount of cooling water into the reactor. The cooling water in the reactor coupled with the influx of rainwater and groundwater day after day, the nuclear power plant continuously produces more and more nuclear waste with radioactive substances.

According to data from TEPCO, as of February 1, 2021, 1.24 million tons of nuclear waste had been accumulated in nuclear power plants. In order to solve the problem of nuclear waste, TEPCO has built many tank-shaped waste storage facilities in the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, but each storage tank can only hold 1,000 to 1,300 tons of waste. At present, there are 1074 water storage tanks in the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. Based on the current average daily production of 180 tons of nuclear waste, by the summer of 2022, there will be no more space in the nuclear power plant to build water storage tanks. Discharge into the sea is a high probability event.

The Japanese government’s plan has a long history. When the news broke last year, it was opposed by the country’s fishermen, who said it would destroy their industry. The fishermen’s concern is that consumers will avoid seafood as a result. In other Asia-Pacific countries, such concerns also exist.

The outbreak of the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident after the March 11 earthquake in 2011 and the leakage of nuclear waste from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan in August 2013 both severely affected the confidence of Korean people in the consumption of fish products.

According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of South Korea, after the nuclear waste leaked from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan in 2013, the consumption of aquatic products by South Korean citizens dropped sharply. Consumption in traditional vegetable markets dropped by 40% year-on-year, and consumption in large supermarkets dropped by 20%.

The Korean Society of Resource Economics has issued a report on the “Impact of the Japanese Nuclear Power Plant Accident on the Korean Fisheries Industry”. The report believes that the above incidents bring about 16 to 37.5 billion Korean won in losses to the Korean fisheries industry every month. During the period from September 2013 to August 2014, the fish production value of the Korean aquaculture industry was 3.7596 billion won, and the loss caused by the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan was about 157.7 billion to 368.1 billion won.

According to data from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of South Korea, after the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan in 2011, South Korea’s imports of Japanese seafood dropped from 56,300 tons in 2011 to 32,900 tons in 2019.

Jiang Haoqiu believes that although the leakage of nuclear waste in 2013 had a huge impact on the Korean fisheries industry, it was still a one-time impact, and the market could gradually recover within a few years. This time the Japanese government stated that the discharge of nuclear waste water will laste for 30 years and the discharge amount will exceed 1 million tons. The Korean fisheries industry is likely to suffer a more severe blow than the 2013 nuclear waste water leakage incident.

“In addition, this will also have a huge impact on the catering industry, wholesale and retail industry, which will lead to the risk of collapse of the Korean fishery industry chain. Behind this, it will directly affect the 1.33 million Korean fishery jobs that account for 5% of the total employment in South Korea. The livelihood of the personnel.” Jiang Haoqiu said.

The aquaculture industry of Southeast Asian countries may also be affected. ASEAN countries have long coastlines and vast sea areas, and are rich in fishery resources. They are the most important marine fishery production areas in the world. Among them, the central and western Pacific Ocean has the richest fishery resources, with the largest number of fish species and the highest fishery output.

Wang Qin believes that from a country perspective, countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines are more likely to be affected. Apart from the US market, ASEAN’s main aquatic products trade objects are located in Asia, including Japan, South Korea, and China etc. The threat of nuclear pollution in the Pacific Ocean will shake up the aquaculture industry and trade activities in the entire region.

How can Asia-Pacific countries respond?

After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, the South Korean government banned the import of seafood from the eight counties surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. In 2015, the Japanese government filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization that South Korea’s move violated WTO rules. In the final judgment in 2019, the WTO determined that the measures taken by the South Korean government were not improper restrictions, and the Japanese government lost the case.

Regarding Japan’s discharge of nuclear waste from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea, what are the ways for Asia-Pacific countries to respond?

The first method is to continue to unilaterally prohibit the import of related seafood. Jiang Haoqiu told CBN reporters that in view of the South Korean government’s previous practices, the South Korean government may take more active measures this time, including strengthening nuclear radiation inspection measures for all Japanese aquatic products and a total ban on the import of Japanese aquatic products.

“However, if South Korea adopts a total ban on the import of Japanese aquatic products, the trade friction between Japan and South Korea will be further aggravated.” Jiang Haoqiu said, “It can be speculated that on the one hand, Japan will retaliate against some industries in South Korea. Will appeal to WTO again.”

The second method is to resort to international law and international organizations. The Governor of South Korea’s Jeju Province Won Heirong once said that if Japan discharges the waste from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, he will file a lawsuit in domestic and foreign courts.

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that the government will continue to give top priority to protecting the health and safety of its citizens, and will strengthen cooperation with the international community to jointly respond.

South Korean media recently reported that the South Korean government is considering sending South Korean experts to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to participate in the investigation and supervision of nuclear waste treatment at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, and to evaluate this to ensure that the radioactive material content of nuclear waste meets or falls below Related standards. At the same time, when discharging nuclear waste, strengthen nuclear radiation inspection and quarantine measures for Japanese aquatic products.