CHINA / DIPLOMACY
Japan’s TEPCO a repeat offender in concealing nuclear wastewater risks: FM
Published: May 24, 2021 07:47 PM
Zhao Lijian

Zhao Lijian

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has been a repeat offender in the manipulation of data and in concealing risks, and is always reluctant to admit until the incidents are exposed, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Friday's routine press conference, in response to reports by Japanese media which said the company has admitted the gel-like objects previously found on the ground of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant are caused by the leakage of a radioactive.

The company said that some of the leakages are suspected to have been carried into the sea by rain as drainage close to the area that has been detected as having elevated levels of radioactivity, but it still insists that the accident has had no impact on the environment, according to reports.

No matter how shocking the results are, the incident has simply been attributed to negligence which might have catastrophic consequences for innocent people, Zhao commented on the above claims.

As a matter of fact, the gel-like substance was found in March, according to media reports. TEPCO didn't respond until late April with information that the storage tank containing radioactive waste at the Fukushima nuclear power plant may have leaked.

Letting such a company handle the Fukushima nuclear accident, a significant threat to the global ecological environment and human health, has to be worrisome, Zhao noted.

Instead of correcting mistakes and stopping losses promptly, the Japanese government has tolerated such vices to happen repeatedly, which is more disturbing to the international community, Zhao said.

Zhao again urged Japan to handle the issue with prudence in an open and transparent manner, and restrain from discharging the wastewater before reaching an agreement with all stakeholders and the International Atomic Energy Agency.