Embassy refutes rumor on China, IAEA and Japan discharge

Recent media reports are false in claiming that China had refused to join the international monitoring mechanism of the International Atomic Energy Agency regarding the discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, said a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Japan.

The fact is that Japan entrusted the IAEA Secretariat to conduct an analysis and laboratory comparison of the nuclear-contaminated water samples collected by Japan itself, but China was not invited to participate, the spokesman said.

Up to this point, all data related to the nuclear-contaminated water has been collected, tested and released by Japan itself.

Japan, as the party being monitored, is acting as the one conducting the testing, and such data naturally cannot gain the trust of the international community, he said.

The laboratory comparison based on samples provided by Japan cannot adequately prove the reliability of Japan's test results and cannot be equated with a long-term, effective international monitoring mechanism that involves substantive stakeholder participation, he said.

The spokesperson emphasized that China does not refuse dialogue and has clearly proposed the establishment of a long-term, effective international monitoring mechanism.

Japan should first demonstrate sincerity in addressing the reasonable concerns of neighboring countries instead of imposing its own monitoring results on others, he said.

The IAEA released a report on July 4 saying the controversial plans to release over one million tons of wastewater into the ocean over the next three decades after treating it with an advanced liquid processing system were consistent with international safety standards and would have "negligible radiological impact on people and the environment".

The IAEA report later was said to be based on samples and data provided by the Japan government.

But on July 11, during a visit to the Cook Islands, where he briefed the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) on his agency's findings, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi was asked at a press conference why the IAEA did not advise Japan on dealing with the water within the country if the organization believes the water is safe.

"Because it's not our competence to do that. What were we requested to do? We do not do policy for Japan. What they (Japan) did was, they said ‘we have this plan, is this plan correct or incorrect?'" Grossi replied.

And the report was criticized by members of a PIF panel who said the agency was abdicating its responsibility by not reviewing the rationale behind the plan. But Japan has since used the IAEA report as a "green light" for its deliberate discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the Pacific starting from Aug 24.