[Press Release for Immediate Release]

Korean Peoples' Action Against Japan’s Ocean Dumping of Radioactive Wastewater(KPAAJODRW)

Multi-national stakeholder groups including fisherfolks, CSOs, and scientists gather virtually to protest Japan’s plan of dumping radioactive wastewater

• Fisherfolks, CSOs, and scientists from 8 different countries gather virtually to stop Japan’s ocean dumping plan of radioactive wastewater for the first time since 2021

• Condemn the unscientific and unaccountable behavior of the Japanese government and the IAEA

• Seek for a joint struggle to stop Japan’s plan, particularly, among fisherfolks

On August 10th, the global media conference on global people’s voice against Japan’s ocean dumping of nuclear wastewater, organized by the Global Campaign Network Against Japan’s Ocean Dumping of Nuclear Wastewater, took place at Korea Green Foundation, Seoul, Korea in a hybrid way. 

Total 14 speakers shared their critical points of view on Japan’s plan. The speakers consist of 3 different stakeholder groups such as fisherfolks, scientists, and civil society organizations in 8 countries, such as the USA, Fiji, the Philippines, Australia, the UK, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. The international meeting among different stakeholders on the issue was the first time since 2021 when the Japanese government announced its plan of ocean dumping of radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. 

All the participants condemned the unscientific and unaccountable behavior of the Japanese government and the IAEA. They also agree to the joint press conference statement that any ocean dumping of nuclear wastewater is an international crime. They demand that “the Japanese government should adopt a state-of-the-art scientific standard and BAT(Best Available Technology) for ensuring radioactive safety, and fulfill the international conventions such as the Law of Sea”. And also they urged “all the organs of the UN, including the IAEA, must oppose and stop Japan’s plan to dump radioactive wastewater,” and asked for no support to Japan’s plan by any countries. 

Participants seeked for a joint struggle to stop Japan's plan before and after dumping of nuclear wastewater in the face of Japan's dumping of radioactive wastewater at the end of this August. Particularly, fisherfolks’ joint action among countries like a marin demonstration to protest Japan’s dumping of radioactive wastewater were discussed positively.

Against the Japanese government’s shameless diplomacy, participants agreed to our further bold action collectively with every possible means such as a legal action and a Global Candlelight Rally  in front of the UN in New York before the SDGs Summit on September 18~19.

The key messages from speakers are as in the below.

Two scientists condemned irresponsible and political behavior of the IAEA, not scientific and accountable as an international watchdog for human safety from nuclear power.

Dr. Arjun Makhijani, a member of the Expert Panel appointed by the Pacific Islands Forum(PIF) pointed out the scientifical deficiency of the Radiological Impact Assessment(RIA) report that TEPCO submitted to the IAEA. According to his criticism on the IAEA, the problem with the IAEA’s report is that its conclusion only depending on the flawed RIA report is not “scientifically supported by the analysis”, and therefore, not in conformity with the IAEA’s 10 fundamental principles for Safety such as Justification principle that “is the process of determining whether a practice is, overall, beneficial, i.e. whether the expected benefits to individuals and to society from introducing or continuing the practice outweigh the harm (including radiation detriment) resulting from the practice(GSG-8).” Also, he strongly criticized the IAEA’s irresponsible and political behavior by abandoning some of its own principles, requirements, and guidelines that would be able to “open a giant loophole for wholesale violation of its justification principle and guidelines”. 

Regarding the public anxiety of the radiological impact on our health, Tim Deere-Jones, an independent Marine Pollution Researcher, gave us a scientific idea of long-term potential adverse impact of radioactivity not only on the marine environment, but also on in-land areas through sea to land transfer of radioactivity. According to him, sea to land transfer of radioactivity has been already proven by many research works done in the UK since the 1970s. “In the 1970s, the UK nuclear industry discovered that in onshore winds Caesium, Plutonium and Americium transferred from the sea to the land in marine aerosols and sea spray and crossed the shoreline to penetrate inland……It was reported that the greatest enrichments were associated with airborne marine micro-organisms, organic and sedimentary particles entrained in marine aerosol micro-droplets……Later independent research proved that over 200 miles from the discharge point, marine radioactivity blew inland from the coast and contaminated agricultural produce ten miles inland.” He warned that “organically Bound tritium(OBT) is biologically available and highly mobile through the marine food webs...(It) is of far greater radiological significance than tritiated water. OBT evidently has the potential to make a significant dose contribution to coastal zone communities.”

5 fisherfolks from 4 countries - Japan, Korea, USA, and the Philippines, shared the concerns of their livelihood after dumping of nuclear wastewater based on their experiences.

Haruo Ono, who has been a fisherman for over 55 years in Fukushima Prefecture, said that “not only me but also the fishermen of Fukushima prefecture are all against ocean release.” And he expressed his anxious life from the radioactive pollution of the sea in Fukushima by mentioning, “I heard somebody's mention at the Tsukiji Market right after the Great East Japan Earthquake that I would not buy fish from Fukushima Prefecture. It seems that such a nightmare will repeat again with the release of polluted water into the ocean.”

Youngcheol Kim, a Korean fisherfolk and an executive director of the National Fishermen Association, said, “I heard that Japan is going to dump radioactive contaminated water into the sea where I live. It really felt like poison was being sprayed on my body.” Also, he expressed the worry of Korean fisherfolks on the fishery market where the price has already been down at half compared to the previous year due to the decrease of consumption after the news of Japan’s ocean dumping of nuclear wastewater this year. He urged that “the Korean government, the Japanese government, and the UN should take the lead in protecting the seas of all mankind rather than political interests. 

Ronnel  Arambulo, a fisherfolk from National Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organizations in the Philippines, also shared the concerns of Filipino fisherfolks on the long-term negative impact of radioactive wastewater from Japan on their livelihood, food safety, and the environment through the North East Monsoon, which lasts for at least six months in the last quarter of the year. Particularly, many fisherfolks in the Philippines are concerned about that  the nuclear wastewater within Philippine waters would aggravate the the already vulnerable Philippine Rise (formerly Benham Rise), a 13-million-hectare underwater plateau between Aurora and Isabela in the eastern part of Luzon which boasts different kinds of marine resources and deposits of gas and minerals that seems like a paradise for them, Ronnel told.

Dave McCutch, a fisherfolk in Oregon of the United States who has been fishing since 2002, said, “the U.S. fishermen saw their market die because everybody was afraid the fish were going to be radioactive." He added "Just the public perception of radioactivity in their fish was enough to kill our market for two and a half years. The point is the radioactive water is going to come to the U.S., American coast. We know that for sure." He also added that he met with Oregon's senators and representatives about the Fukushima water problem, but he only confirmed that most politicians were unaware of the issue.

Mark Barnes, another U.S. fisherman in Oregon who has been fishing for 35 years, pointed out that Japan's discharge of nuclear wastewater at sea would be "super detrimental to the Pacific Ocean," affecting his children and grandchildren as well as himself.

CSO campaigners also shared the situations in their countries.

Epeli Lesuma, a Nuclear Justice Campaigner of the Pacific Network on Globalization (PANG), said, people in the Pacific Island “disappointed in the Japanese Government and TEPCO’s shameless disregard of the calls of the Pacific Islands Forum panel of experts to hold off on any such release and to explore alternatives.” And they “condemn Japan’s diplomatic efforts to fracture the long-held regional position of Pacific states in defense of a nuclear-free Pacific, and numerous attempts to increase its Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) as a means of placating our leaders and buying support for its irresponsible and dangerous plans,” he told.

Dana Ngo, a Lead Organizer of Ocean Health Cooperatives, a global coalition to promote the public awareness of ocean health, commented that “we have a huge collective responsibility to make the right decision for the world that we know is possible……We still have a chance to step forward on a path towards beauty and restoration, by considering the alternative solutions that exist to the discharge.”

Chen Shi-Ting, a Senior Researcher of Green Citizen Action Alliance(GCAA), urged “the Japanese government to contemplate other safer alternatives of land-based storage plans around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant,  rather than turning the sea into a dumping ground just 12 years after the nuclear disaster.” And she added “Japan has no right to  inflict a beggar-thy-neighbor policy on the marine environment and neighboring countries.” She also criticized the reactive stance of the Taiwanese government on this matter even though it opposes Japan’s ocean dumping plan. She urged “the government should utilize all available diplomatic avenues to protest the release of Fukushima radioactive wastewater and demand a complete withdrawal of the plan.” 

[Attached]

1. Press Conference Statement: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kMTu-plUfVUr5XTgUk5rD0bmjFa1-Q7vKqs1Jz9dceo/edit?usp=sharing 
2. Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Auovn9Fy7fdN5gL52Yeqav9YdFdL8p1R?usp=sharing 
3. Conference Program: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16lPJd0l7_wVb-ZJsfWfR_RS-fAf1J0-o0paroxGYfaE/edit?usp=sharing 
4. Scripts of the speakers: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MAmxr29NAQGJxJRsBlgD4MaaBegoJf0WTStymdX5Wtc/edit?usp=sharing