This aerial photo shows the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Feb 14, 2021, a day after a strong earthquake. (HIRONORI ASAKAWA / KYODO NEWS VIA AP)
Japan's unilateral decision to discharge contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean is threatening coastal communities and marine biodiversity in the Southeast Asian region, experts said.
The release of over 1 million tons of toxic water may not have an immediate impact on Southeast Asia's seas, but it can have long-term consequences, given the interconnectedness of the global water systems.
"The seas are a fluid environment that cannot be bordered up by any means," said Serina Abdul Rahman, visiting fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
Renato Redentor Constantino, executive director of Manila-based think tank Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, said releasing radioactive water will affect not just Japan but its neighbors in the region as well
She said that while the area from which Japan will dump the contaminated water "is quite a distance away", it will only be a matter of time before this discharge will eventually flow into Southeast Asian seas.
"With extreme weather conditions, that we get more frequently now, anything in the sediment and substrate can get churned up and flow with the currents," Serina said.
A conservation scientist and environmental anthropologist, Serina has worked with a Malaysian fishing community for more than a decade. As such, she is also concerned on how the water discharge will hurt the marine food chain, public health and the livelihood of fisherfolk.
Serina said that wastewater discharge will harm not just the maritime environment and migratory birds and animals. The dumping of contaminated water also threatens public health as it can contaminate seafood. Fisherfolk will also lose their livelihood in the process.
Renato Redentor Constantino, executive director of Manila-based think tank Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, said releasing radioactive water will affect not just Japan but its neighbors in the region as well, as they all share maritime borders.
"Typhoons and super storms are 'shared' among many countries in Asia, just as smog from forest fires cross borders," he said.
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Constantino has urged Japan to stop dumping its "gross failure to curb the avarice and recklessness of its nuclear industry on its neighbors, future generations, and the fragile ecosystems we all share".
Naderev Sano, executive director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said Japan's decision "completely disregards" human rights and international maritime law.
"This completely ignores the human rights and interests of the people in Fukushima, wider Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. Japan is known to have a much higher capacity, and more robust risk management systems, monitoring systems, enforcement capacity, and technology," Sano said at an April 22 briefing.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on April 13 that his government has decided to discharge contaminated wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea.
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been generating massive amounts of radiation-tainted water since 2011, after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit the northeastern coast of Japan and triggered a powerful tsunami. The plant's three nuclear reactors melted down after the tsunami destroyed their cooling system.
Loren Legarda, deputy speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives has also urged Japan and international groups to conduct an environmental impact assessment on the plan to dispose Fukushima nuclear waste waters
Tokyo Electric Power Company, the plant's operator, pumped seawater into the reactor cores to cool them and keep them from melting. Since then, TEPCO has stored 1.25 million tons of wastewater in tanks. These tanks are estimated to be filled up by 2022.
The water, according to reports, has been treated using an advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS, to remove most contaminants. But things like tritium, a radioactive byproduct of nuclear reactors, are proving hard to filter out.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian urged Japan to cooperate with relevant countries, including China and South Korea, to conduct assessments on Fukushima's radioactive wastewater. The Pacific Island nations have asked Japan to "rethink" its decision.
Philippine Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque reminded Japan of "the principles of international environmental law" with which he hopes "all countries comply".
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"First principle is that we are one ecosystem, second principle is we are interconnected, and the third principle is that the polluter must pay," Roque said at an April 15 virtual press briefing.
Loren Legarda, deputy speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives has also urged Japan and international groups to conduct an environmental impact assessment on the plan to dispose Fukushima nuclear waste waters.
The Philippines is so far the only Southeast Asian country that has issued an official statement on Japan's dumping of nuclear wastewater, despite the region having a far-reaching collective coastline and one of the world's most diverse marine ecosystems, as well as being home to thousands of fisherfolk. Southeast Asia has a thriving fisheries industry and accounts for roughly 25 percent of global fish production.
Riko Kurniawan, director of the Riau Province's office of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI), is calling on the Indonesian government to provide more information on Japan's dumping of wastewater.
"We don't know if the (wastewater will flow into) our seawaters. We need data and information about the issue," he said.
Antonio Oposa Jr, a renowned environmental lawyer from the Philippines, has also urged the Philippine government "to do something about it (because) that is something that is not just illegal, but very dangerous to the country".
"We have to take action. The time for talk is over," he said.
Leonardus Jegho in Jakarta contributed to this story.