Pacific groups call on Leaders to reconsider diplomatic relations with Japan

Wednesday 8th November, 2023 The Pacific Collective on Nuclear Issues, composed of civil society groups, non-governmental organisations and movements in the Pacific, denounces once again the dumping of radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear powerplant into the Pacific Ocean as the only solution available. The Collective also condemns the Government of Japan and the facility operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), for insisting on this flawed and dangerous course of action. On the 24th August, 2023, the Fumio Kishida Government commenced dumping into Pacific waters part of the 1.3 million tonnes of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) radioactive wastewater it plans to release from its destroyed Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant over the next 30 to 40 years. The second release commenced on the 5th of last month. This blatant action proceeded despite numerous and repeated objections by Governments and communities, environmental groups, NGOs and anti-nuclear movements in Japan and the Pacific. The Collective had earlier expressed deep disappointment in the Japanese Government and TEPCO for their total lack of respect and shameless disregard for Pacific peoples’ opposition to the dumping operation based on independent scientific advice. The findings of the independent panel of scientific experts commissioned by the Pacific Islands Forum were unequivocal - the data provided so far, to support Japan’s claim that the treated wastewater is safe, is inconsistent, unsound and therefore far from reliable. Moreover, we are not reassured by the International Atomic Energy Association’s confidence in the safety of Japan’s proposal as the Agency’s remit is to promote the safe use of nuclear energy. If the Japanese Government and TEPCO believe the radioactive wastewater is safe, they should be prepared to safely dispose of it within terrestrial Japan. The Collective also declares that such dumping into the Pacific Ocean is a direct violation of our human rights. It is deeply worrying that Pacific peoples are denied yet again our right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) on an issue that has direct implications on our sea of islands. Aside from being a brazen violation of international law, Japan’s behaviour and handling of this matter is an affront to the very sovereignty of Pacific states and unbecoming of a Dialogue partner of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). The Collective stands by the Pacific’s long-standing and collective commitment to a nuclear-free region and condemns Japan’s ongoing diplomatic efforts to fracture the established regional position of Pacific states on Fukushima and ultimately on defending our nuclear-free Pacific. On the occasion of the 52nd meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders in the Cook Islands, in respect of the long-standing provisions of the Treaty of Rarotonga for a nuclear-free zone, and in keeping with the spirit of Pacific self-determination that the aforementioned occasion is supposed to celebrate: We call on our Pacific Leaders to reaffirm, in solidarity, the long-held position of the Pacific to keep our region nuclear-free, which encompasses opposing all forms of nuclear harm to our people, our earth and our ocean, including from uranium mining, nuclear weapons, nuclear testing, nuclear waste and the transportation and storage of radioactive materials through our islands and waterways. We call on the international community not to turn a blind eye to the threat that dumping radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean poses to Pacific peoples, our livelihoods, safety, health and well-being; essentially our way of life today and the future of our region as a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. We call on the Government of Japan and TEPCO to renounce immediately the 30 to 40-year radioactive wastewater dumping operation that commenced in August, 2023 and reconsider the findings of the PIF panel of scientific experts, which clearly states that there are safer alternatives to dumping radioactive wastewater into Pacific waters. We call on our Pacific Leaders to suspend Japan’s status as a PIF dialogue partner, and to review diplomatic relations at the next Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM) in 2024. Pacific People Call for New Clear Ways! Attention: Hon. Prime Minister Mark Brown Chair Pacific Islands Forum Pacific Islands Forum Leaders and Member States Henry Puna Secretary General Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Dr Filimon Manoni Pacific Ocean Commissioner Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner THIS STATEMENT IS ENDORSED BY: Vanuatu Indigenous Land Defence Desk (VILDD) Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN) Pacific Centre for Peacebuilding (PCP) Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) Social Empowerment Education Program (SEEP) MISA4thePacific Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) Fiji Youth SRHR Alliance Melanesian Indigenous Land Defence Alliance (MILDA) Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS) Deep Sea Mining Campaign (DSMC) Alliance for Future Generations Pacific Islands Association of NGOs (PIANGO) Pacficwin Pacific (Pacwin) Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) Youngsolwara Pacific Australian Association for Pacific Studies (AAPS) Nuclear Truth Project AIDWATCH