Pacific leaders reissue Fukushima plea

SUVA, Fiji — Pacific island leaders wrapped up the two-day retreat in Fiji on Friday after intense discussion on Japan's plan to release Fukushima wastewater into the sea.

The rotating chair of the Pacific Island Forum, which organized the retreat, said in a statement that science and data should guide political decisions on Japan's proposed discharge of treated radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant.

The outgoing chair, Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, together with other forum leaders, said the decision was not just a domestic issue, because it concerns countries in the South Pacific and beyond.

Given that the data and evidence provided by Japan are not independent or verifiable, the forum has called on the country repeatedly to delay the discharge plan. Civil society groups in Japan and international organizations have also voiced objection, citing the lack of a practical demonstration and the plan's potential threat to society and marine ecology.

"The Pacific Ocean is not the sea of Japan but the sea of everybody," said Ahn Jae-hun, energy and climate change director of the Korea Federation for Environment Movement, in South Korea. He warned that pollutants could flow to neighboring countries and into marine ecosystems already contaminated by radioactive materials.

Henry Puna, secretary-general of the Pacific Island Forum, said, "We must prevent action that will lead or mislead us toward another major nuclear contamination disaster at the hands of others."

Unanimous opposition

Pacific island countries have unanimously opposed Japan's release plan, saying radioactive substances could spread with ocean currents and tides, contaminating fish and threatening the fisheries industry. More than half of the world's tuna comes from the Pacific Ocean.

The ocean's delicate ecology may also come under threat, they say. If the wastewater release leads to an ecological disaster, vulnerable island residents will leave their homes, causing an ecological and survival crisis that will deal a heavy blow to the Pacific region.

In addition, they say, Western countries have conducted a dazzling array of nuclear tests in the Pacific since the mid-20th century, resulting in shocking radioactive pollution and ecological disasters.

Analysts have urged Japan not to ignore the concerns and livelihoods of Pacific islanders and to hold off dumping the wastewater into the sea until disputes are settled over the legitimacy of the discharge plan, the reliability of radioactivity data, the effectiveness of purification equipment, and the potential environmental impact.

Xinhua