[Japan's Contaminated Water Discharge] Russia Condemns... 'Double Standards'

Japan Outraged by 1993 Russian Nuclear Waste Discharge
Rushes to Justify as Situation Changes 30 Years Later

"I ended up eating radioactive sushi" (1993 statement by Japanese protesters)

"Drinking Fukushima contaminated water is no big deal" (2021 statement by Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso)

The Japanese government is building justification for the ocean discharge of Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated water, claiming it is harmless, but this stance is confirmed to be the exact opposite of the position taken about 30 years ago. Some point to this discrepancy as a hypocritical behavior.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In 1993, the international environmental organization Greenpeace revealed that the Russian navy secretly dumped hundreds of tons of nuclear waste from nuclear submarines into the Sea of Japan near Japan, causing an uproar in Japanese society. The Russian military, facing a shortage of nuclear processing and waste storage facilities, secretly discharged waste into the ocean with tacit government approval, but Greenpeace exposed this act. The Russian government claimed that the concentration of nuclear waste discharged was below the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards and posed no threat.

However, the Japanese government immediately protested. At that time, Japanese Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa invited Boris Yeltsin, the former Soviet president, to Tokyo and signed a convention banning the ocean dumping of nuclear waste. Subsequently, Japan amended the London Convention to allow ocean dumping of low-level nuclear waste with government approval. As a result, resolutions were adopted in 1993 and 1996 to conditionally ban ocean dumping of nuclear waste.

A similar situation occurred in 1986, caused by the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion in Russia. When the horrors of the Chernobyl accident became known, Japan acted swiftly. The Japanese parliament demanded rapid and transparent information disclosure from the Russian government immediately after the accident. The government also dispatched fighter jets to measure radiation levels in the atmosphere. Safety standards for the import of European agricultural and marine products were significantly strengthened. Japan halted imports of food from a total of 12 countries, including Russia, France, and Spain, erecting a strong barrier against radioactive contamination. This immediate response by Japan appears to stem from the experience of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.

However, after the Fukushima nuclear accident and the decision to discharge contaminated water into the ocean, Japan’s stance reversed completely. Some argue that unlike the past responses to Russian nuclear waste disposal and the Chernobyl accident, Japan is applying a double standard regarding the concerns and vigilance of neighboring countries. Critics point out the inconsistency of Japan, which protested "I ended up eating radioactive sushi" over Russian nuclear waste dumping, now saying "Drinking Fukushima contaminated water is no big deal." In particular, criticism has been raised over the lack of sufficient consultation with neighboring countries and transparent disclosure of data during Japan’s decision-making process for ocean discharge.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.