By Sunny Lee – Founder and President at CGPS (Center for Global Peace and Security), and Director at IKUPD (Institute for Korea-U.S. Political Development), Washington DC
The nuclear power station in Fukushima exploded after a devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami crippled the coastal plant in 2011, contaminating the seawater with 64 radioactive elements as a gigantic national disaster. Japan kept on pondering how to release the nuclear water for around 10 years and finally announced that radiation in the wastewater will be diluted to almost-background levels through the filtering process.
Nonetheless, some researchers are very much suspicious whether it will be sufficient to mitigate the risks or not. It means wastewater from Fukushima is not fully guaranteed as 100% safe. If any single risk remains, it will go through global human life and bring out people’s fear as well. It is the core reason that it turns into a global issue.
To become an advanced country in honor and respect, its national morality and attitude dealing with global agendas would be very important. Not only following up international norms for worldwide security but also upgrading national competitiveness can be ratified and affirmed by such an international standard.
Since Japan announced it will release nuclear wastewater from Fukushima, residents around that area have been so worried about its fatal disaster that they might give up their fishery life. Ironically, the South Korean Government, unlike neighboring countries which strongly oppose it, tries to appease people through advertisements that a ghost story about wastewater is not true by emphasizing the scientific verification that IAEA presented. It’s a hilarious idea as advocating the Japanese Government so that it is stimulating an additional issue to impeach South Korean President Yoon SukuYeol.
Japan’s nuclear wastewater release has turned into a global issue in speed. Even though it comes from Fukushima, it goes everywhere on the worldwide oceans. It heavily influences seaside countries based on the fishery business because seafood for people’ stamina will no longer be in favor of thinking of health and security.
In modern times, most imperialistic countries in the line of colonialism stepped up to democratic countries after World War II. However, Japan’s national identity is still sleeping in extraordinary imperialism. For instance, Japan has never been sorry with a heartful attitude about what they had done in colonial wars. Especially, Japan collected countless laborers, soldiers, and comfort women to push them in the horrible wars waiting for death not only from Korea but also many countries in Asia.
However, Japan’s attitude on what they did in history has always been exaggerated related to its war crimes which even turns itself into glory. Japan would glamorize those criminal activities as a historical adventure to dedicate peace and prosperity in Asia. Moreover, Japan teaches such war crimes with honor to its people in formal history education as it conceals truth and spreads false information. Such an immoral attitude of Japan without shame and reflection has reinforced its chauvinistic nationality. As well, it would affirm Japan’s ethnic identity, very much different from Germany which still apologizes for how many Jewish people killed and what inhuman war crimes conducted during World War II.
Now, the world doesn’t really trust IAEA’s presentation, even though it insists on secure standards and its confirmed verification. IAEA’s record doesn’t relieve most people’s fear and anxiety in the world whether it could be lethal not only in food from the sea but also in leisure life from the ocean.
People still remember a similar case as a worldwide syndrome when Covid-19 started in China. At that moment, WHO officially announced that it wouldn’t become so serious that most countries didn’t really prepare to save their people’s lives. But it spread so fast through the world to become a pandemic, which has been stuck for a few years and so many innocent people died. A lot of countries experienced economic deterioration in pain through Covid-19 and some of them went bankrupt in serious destruction of their economic systems.
If WHO and China honestly warned about its serious upcoming syndrome, such a worldwide disaster would be caught early to prevent pandemic. After desperate struggles with Covid-19, anti-China syndrome spread widely. People often figure out China’s impact on WHO which might take a certain bribe related to the initial declaration of Covid-19.
Therefore, if Japan continually emphasizes IAEA’s scientific verification, it is not a proper attitude that general people still submerge in a dreadful fear of wastewater’s harmful influence.
Japan should be sorry for Fukushima residents, neighboring countries, seaside countries, and finally the world where it directly connects to general people’s health.
Even though it is OK or safe, Japan’s moral attitude and sincere responsibility would be still required to relieve most people’s fear. In a few years, wastewater might be proved not as serious as most people and countries are worrying about. Nonetheless, Japan should find out the best solution to reinforce its national trust by considering international security and prosperity.
Every country in the world is connected to each other belonging to the global society so that it can solely stay or live by itself. If any of them pursues its own national interests with a very selfish and stubborn purpose out of global security, it will be finally isolated from other countries. As such, the global society is not in favor of China, Russia, and North Korea against international security and prosperity because they keep on pursuing military conflicts to expand their national interests.
Japan has a strong potential which can be included in such a group if nuclear wastewater results in serious influence on human life and destroys ecosystems in the sea after release. If it so costs over the government budget to fully filter wastewater, Japan can ask the international organizations for financial assistance. It is a much better way than cheating the international society by calling it drinkable water.
It’s the time that Japan should wake up from a ghost sticking around an imperialistic illusion.
When Japan really speculates about general peoples’ health and security with a heartful attitude and policy, the international society will understand Japan’s decision. Of course, it should come from the national morality as an advanced country that most countries take an applause whatever Japan deals with global agendas in future.
We can’t really predict the clear outcome of Fukushima wastewater release, how deeply it impacts on global human life and damages ecosystems in the oceans. Perhaps, it will be an OK or terrible situation, worse than the one we cannot easily handle. Nevertheless, one thing remains as the truth; if Japan is not sincere or honest to treat such a global issue, its outcome will obviously be the whole responsibility of Japan, which will be totally excluded and isolated from international society.
Sunny Lee – Founder and President at CGPS (Center for Global Peace and Security), and Director at IKUPD (Institute for Korea-U.S. Political Development), Washington DC. Sunny Lee is the author of 115 academic books in politics (original English and in German, French, Russian, Polish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese). She is a bestseller writer not only in politics but also in literature on Amazon. Her recent book is titled: “The Influence on Humankind’s Peace through Korean Reunification: Creating new paradigm in social science by interdisciplinary research.”
(The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of World Geostrategic Insights).