STORY: China once again urges Japan to stop pushing through ocean discharge plan
DATELINE: July 11, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:36
LOCATION: GENEVA, Switzerland
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. Various of UN
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): Chinese diplomat

STORYLINE:

China on Monday once again urged Japan to stop its plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean at the ongoing 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): Chinese diplomat
"Out of economic cost considerations, Japan ignored the concerns and opposition of the international community, and its continuous discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water into the sea is the equivalent of treating the Pacific Ocean like a 'sewer.' Japan will release millions of tons of nuclear-contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean in the next 30 years.

We urged Japan to dispose of it in a science-based, safe and transparent manner, and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to put in place a long-term international monitoring mechanism involving Japan's neighbors and other stakeholders as soon as possible."

The Japanese government has been pushing for dumping the contaminated wastewater this summer from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was hit by a massive earthquake and an ensuing tsunami in March 2011.

The move has aroused strong opposition and doubts from domestic fishing groups, neighboring countries and South Pacific island countries, as well as the international community.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Geneva, Switzerland.
(XHTV)