‘Regrettable’ that Summary of Support for Treated Water Release Not Adopted at NPT Talks

The yomiuri Shimbun

15:26 JST, August 16, 2023

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Tuesday it is regrettable that a summary stating support for Japan’s plan to release treated water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was not recorded as an official document at a nuclear non-proliferation conference session.

The first session of the preparatory committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons ended in Vienna on Friday.

The draft summary was not adopted at the session. It included a statement of strong support for relevant activities of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which concluded last month that Japan’s treated water discharge plan was consistent with international safety standards.

“China was the only country at the preparatory committee that made critical remarks about the efforts of Japan and the IAEA, which are based on scientific evidence,” Matsuno said at a press conference.

“It is significant that we were able to confirm that understanding of the release plan is spreading in the international community,” he stressed.