Last chance to stay Tokyo's hand opening the tap: China Daily editorial

It is now clear that Japan has never hesitated in proceeding with its ocean discharge plan for the nuclear-contaminated water at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant since the first brick was laid to build the discharge system.

If it was really handling the nuclear-contaminated water in a scientific, safe and transparent way, and subjecting itself to rigorous international oversight, as Tokyo claims, the whole discharge project would not have progressed before receiving the approval of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

On Wednesday, the Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan started its three-day "final comprehensive check" of the pipelines and supporting facilities that Japan will use to discharge the water into the ocean.

This is nothing but a sham. It is a performance intended to convey the great significance the Japanese government attaches to the safety of the wastewater discharge system.

But the integrity of the discharge system has no bearing on the safety of the water itself.

Ensuring the integrity and reliability of the discharge system is purely for Japan's sake. It is to ensure not a single drop of the radioactive water can leak into Japanese soil.

The country's top nuclear watchdog, a de facto affiliate to the Japanese government, has never assumed real independence and examined the feasibility of the discharge project. Instead, it quickly rubber stamped the government's plan.

Its field check of the discharge infrastructure, a procedure required by law, is scheduled to be completed on Friday, and it will reportedly issue a statement on whether the system has passed its final check or not on Monday.

That haste should come as no surprise, not only because of the NRA's proved readiness to give a green light to everything related to the project, but also because the IAEA Task Force is scheduled to release its report reviewing Japan's discharge project on Tuesday.

As long as the IAEA does not raise any objections in its report — and reportedly, the Japanese government proposed substantive revisions after obtaining a draft of the report, as well as making political donations worth over €1 million ($1.09 million) to the staff of the IAEA Secretariat — Tokyo is expected to give full play to its gift in playing word games to interpret it in its own favor.

Both Tokyo and the world atomic energy watchdog have maintained a studied silence over the claims, which has added to the impression that there is no smoke without fire. 

It is to be hoped that the IAEA Secretariat will act in an objective and professional manner, and fully respect and adopt the views of experts of all parties in the Task Force and present a review report that can withstand the test of science and history.