Leaders of environmentalists, fisherfolks and consumer rights groups in the Philippines have gathered together to oppose Japan's decision to dump toxic water to the Pacific Ocean in a forum held in Manila on Aug 24, 2023. The forum was organized by Wilson Lee Flores (right), a business leader and newspaper columnist. Wu Chenqi (second from right), an official with the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, was also at the event to discuss China's opposition against the dumping. (WILSON LEE FLORES / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Environmentalists, consumer groups and fishery organizations in the Philippines have condemned the Japanese government’s blatant decision to proceed with its planned dumping of more than 1 million tons of radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, noting that the move violates human rights and will harm marine ecology and human health over the long term.  

At a hybrid forum on Aug 24 that was organized and moderated by Wilson Lee Flores, a business leader and newspaper columnist, participants called on the Philippine government to take a stand on Japan’s action.

Meanwhile, they expressed solidarity with other countries in the region — including China, South Korea and Pacific Island countries — which will also suffer from a contaminated ocean that everyone shares.

Ronnel Arambulo, national spokesperson of the Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organizations in the Philippines, said that his group will be protesting at the Japanese embassy in Manila on Aug 26 to pressure Tokyo into halting the nuclear wastewater discharge

Ronnel Arambulo, national spokesperson of the Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organizations in the Philippines, said that his group will be protesting at the Japanese embassy in Manila on Aug 26 to pressure Tokyo into halting the nuclear wastewater discharge. He said the discharge will poison the ocean, destroy marine resources and take away the livelihood of thousands of small-scale fishermen.

On Aug 24, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), operator of the decommissioned Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, started discharging the first batch of wastewater into sea. The action came despite concerns raised by the Japanese fisherfolk as well as the international community.

Arambulo said Japan repeatedly ignored the growing clamor of the people from many East Asian nations, especially the farmers and fishers, to stop the dumping of toxic radioactive waste into the world's largest ocean.

The toxic wastewater will endanger the resource-rich marine environment of the Philippines, Arambulo added, urging the Philippine government to oppose Japan's move.

READ MORE: Pacific leaders condemn Japan's nuke water dumping decision

Cecilia Guidote Alvarez, executive director of environmental group Earthsavers and a Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Public Service, said protesting against TEPCO’s move is a matter of human rights. Discharging toxic wastewater into the ocean “is against one’s right to a clean, healthy, sustainable (and) peaceful environment,” she said, noting that “water is life”.

She called for continuous “diversified action” against the move, noting that the toxic discharge will pollute the ocean over the long term and endanger even the future generations.

Emily Fajardo, council member of the Nuclear-Free Bataan Movement, said their group is “concerned with (the Philippine) government’s continuing silence and indifference on this critical issue”. She also urged the global community to continue to resist the outright disregard of the Japanese government for the rights of the people along the Pacific Ocean to be protected from the potential harms and dangers, as it pushes ahead with the wastewater dumping. 

The nuclear water discharge threatens the well-being of fisherfolk who depend on the ocean for their livelihood. “How long will it take to contaminate the other bodies of water connected to Pacific Ocean by this wastewater dumping?  Do they have a plan to mitigate that, in case the contamination will spread out?” she said.

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Raymond Palatino, secretary general of the New Patriotic Alliance and a former party-list representative at the Philippine Congress, said Japan is guilty of “nuclear colonialism”. He said the Philippine government should not only take a position against the dumping, but should also ally itself with other Pacific Island countries so that they can have a collective voice

Raymond Palatino, secretary general of the New Patriotic Alliance and a former party-list representative at the Philippine Congress, said Japan is guilty of “nuclear colonialism”. He said the Philippine government should not only take a position against the dumping, but should also ally itself with other Pacific Island countries so that they can have a collective voice.

He questioned why Japan resorted to dumping the nuclear wastewater into the sea instead of exhausting all other alternatives like expanding the Daiichi plant’s storage space.

“If the wastewater is really safe why are they releasing it to the ocean? Why can’t they recycle it?” Palatino said. He said an independent panel has to be created to test if the wastewater is indeed safe. 

The Fukushima nuclear plant was decommissioned after a strong earthquake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan in March 2011. The water that will be discharged has been used to cool the reactors at the plant.

On June 12, TEPCO started testing the equipment to discharge the nuclear-contaminated water from the plant into the Pacific. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Aug 22 that the discharge will start on Aug 24, weather and sea conditions permitting. He said that the government will take full responsibility for the decision.

READ MORE: Japan regulator approves Tepco's release of Fukushima water

Quoting data from TEPCO, global environmentalist group Greenpeace said there were over 1.3 million cubic meters of radioactive wastewater stored in the nuclear power plant’s tanks. But owing to the failure of the Advanced Liquid Processing System technology, about 70 percent of this water will have to be processed again.

Meanwhile, the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs said the Southeast Asian country "continues to look at this issue from a science- and fact-based perspective and its impact on the waters in the region."

With Xinhua inputs