China warns of global risks over Fukushima nuclear wastewater release

By Gizem Nisa Cebi

ISTANBUL (AA) - Japan's disposal of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the surrounding ocean poses a risk "not only for human health, but also for the global marine environment and international public interests," China said on Friday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing and other nations have taken "completely legitimate, reasonable, and necessary" measures for food safety and public health after the release of wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant last year.

Japan began releasing treated radioactive wastewater from the plant last August, triggering a backlash from China and opposition parties in South Korea and the Solomon Islands.

Beijing had suspended all seafood imports from Japan for six months after Tokyo went ahead with plans to release the water, citing concerns about radioactive contamination.

The plant has more than 1 million tons of treated wastewater to release in a 30-year process.

The Fukushima plant was forced to shut down after facing the largest nuclear accident since 1986 in Chernobyl following an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.