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Japan Assures Marshall Islands Of Transparency On Fukushima Wastewater Discharge
Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has given his assurance to the Marshall Islands President Dr Hilda Heine that Japan will continue to be transparent about the controversial release of treated nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
The leaders of the two nations met on 13 March for Heine's third visit to Tokyo for the Japan-Marshall Islands Summit.
Japan began discharging wastewaster in August 2023 from about 1000 storage tanks holding over one million metric tonnes of contaminated water collected after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that caused the meltdown of its Fukushima nuclear plant.
"Prime Minister Ishiba explained that the safety of the discharge is ensured, and that Japan plans to support monitoring capacity building through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," Japan's Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
"He also mentioned that Japan will continue to handle the matter with transparency based on scientific evidence to enhance the confidence in its safety."
Pacific Island Forum secretary general Baron Waqa said in 2023 that regional leaders are committed to holding Japan accountable should anything go wrong.
"We have done our best to get Japan not to commence the discharge until there is full agreement that it is verifiably safe to do so. But Japan has taken a sovereign decision," he said.
"That point is now past. What we need to focus on now is to hold Japan to account."
Meanwhile, the two leaders also discussed other bilateral issues, including the reconstruction of Amata Kabua International Airport Terminal, Japan's contributions to the Pacific Resilience Facility of the Pacific Islands Forum, and support for the development of a water supply system in the Marshall Islands to strengthen disaster resilience.
Japan will also work with Marshall Islands to address common challenges, such as climate change, which Pacific Island leaders have said is "the single greatest existential threat" and the marine environment.
RNZ
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