On the 5th (local time), discussions regarding the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan are expected to take place at the London Convention and London Protocol Contracting Parties Meeting in London.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London, UK, is holding the 45th Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the London Convention and the 18th Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the London Protocol from the 2nd to the 6th. Among these, a session on "Matters concerning the management of radioactive waste" is scheduled for the afternoon of the 5th.
This is the first meeting since Japan began discharging contaminated water from Fukushima, and it is expected that related countries including South Korea and Greenpeace will express their positions on the Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated water at this session.
The London Convention is an international treaty established to prevent marine pollution by prohibiting the dumping of waste at sea, and the London Protocol was adopted in 1996 to strengthen the implementation obligations of the London Convention. The London Convention and London Protocol jointly hold annual Contracting Parties Meetings at the IMO headquarters to resolve matters such as the enactment and amendment of the London Protocol.
Since 2019 until last year, the government has argued at the Contracting Parties Meetings of the London Convention and Protocol that discussions on Japan’s handling of nuclear power plant contaminated water are necessary.
On the other hand, the Japanese government has stated that the discharge of nuclear power plant contaminated water is not dumping at sea and therefore is not a matter to be addressed under the London Convention and Protocol framework, which has hindered progress in discussions.
Meanwhile, the IMO Legal Affairs Division recently interpreted that it is "not certain" whether Japan’s discharge of nuclear power plant contaminated water constitutes dumping at sea as defined by the London Convention and Protocol, and that it can be discussed at the Contracting Parties Meeting through consensus among the parties.
At this meeting, attention is focused on whether opinions advocating that the issue of Japan’s nuclear power plant contaminated water should be addressed within the London Convention and Protocol framework will continue to emerge, or whether related countries will only mention fundamental aspects such as Japan’s enhanced information sharing and safe treatment.
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