China Joins IAEA Survey Over Fukushima Water

Facts

• On Thursday, China joined an IAEA-led radiation examination of fish that had been unloaded at a port in Japan's Fukushima.¹
• Previously, the Chinese foreign ministry had mooted the IAEA's role in monitoring water discharge from the country's Fukushima nuclear plant, which was compromised by a major earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 2011.²
• The Agency's team of experts will observe the concentrations of radionuclides in samples of seawater, marine sediment, and fish in the plant's vicinity.³
• This comes after China last month contested the IAEA's monitoring of Japan's wastewater discharge, claiming it was 'neither mandated by the body's Board of Governors nor fully discussed by member states.'⁴
• The PRC has been a strong opponent of Japan releasing the Fukushima nuclear plant's treated waste water — which contains tritium, a radioactive material — into the ocean.¹
• Beijing has imposed a blanket ban on Japanese seafood imports, while urging Tokyo to halt the plan to discharge what it deemed 'nuclear-contaminated' water.⁵

Sources: ¹Nippon, ²Reuters, ³IAEA, ⁴AA and ⁵Kyodo News+.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by BBC News. Japan is treating the ocean as its private sewer. Besides the fact that UN human rights experts, alongside environmentalists, have opposed the plan to release the contaminated water, public opinion in Japan is deeply averse to the idea. There isn't enough scientific understanding or technological capability to ensure this move would be harmless.
• Narrative B, as provided by Japan Forward. The system Japan has used to treat the water in Fukushima leaves only tritium, which emits extremely weak radiation and doesn't impact the environment. Yet, China has been running a smear campaign against Japan and its fisheries products. The IAEA's latest tests will only back Japanese assurances to the world and, therefore, China must roll back its rhetoric.

Predictions