International Legal Regulation And Improvement Of State Responsibility For Nuclear Wastewater Discharge Into The Se

As one of the most promising future energy for mankind,nuclear energy was first discovered in 1895 and has been used in various fields such as military,industry and aerospace.The development of nuclear power has promoted to the progress of mankind,but it has also been accompanied by nuclear safety issues,such as the world-renowned Chernobyl nuclear accident,Fukushima nuclear accident and Three Mile Island nuclear accident.Nuclear safety has always been a major global concern because of the deadly,long-lasting,international,and irreversible effects of nuclear accidents.The nuclear disaster served as a warning for nuclear security.Unexpectedly,on April 13,2021,Japan formally stated that nuclear radioactive water from the Fukushima accident would be released into the ocean.Serious concern has been raised about this statement all around the world,but notably in nearby nations.Once the nuclear radioactive water is released into the ocean,it will represent a threat to the entire marine ecosystem,as well as to people’s health and the security.International law imposes corresponding substantive and procedural obligations on the discharge of radioactive substances,from the beginning of setting discharge standards to environmental assessment and monitoring to the remedy of damage after the discharge.From the perspective of nuclear safety,a country’s disposal of radioactive substances should be in compliance with international environmental laws and laws related to nuclear safety.According to the pertinent requirements of international law,the Japanese government has taken some preparatory actions prior to the discharge of nuclear radioactive water,but there are still some problems with this process,including insufficient environmental assessment,failure to notify and consult with relevant countries,and untimely information disclosure.In violation of its commitments under international law,Japan committed the illegal act of discharging nuclear radioactive water into the sea.Because this act may also be linked to the state,Japan is held accountable for this violation on a global scale.Since the middle of the 20 th century,the system of state responsibility has been continuously improved in legal theories,judicial precedents,international treaties,and other pertinent international documents;however,in the face of complex realistic needs,the legal regulation of nuclear radioactive water discharge into the sea still has some limitations.It is difficult to employ state responsibility to prevent and control the actual execution of this conduct in the current context since it is not possible to pursue the acting state’s state duty within the current international legal framework.Therefore,this paper attempts to conduct a study from the perspective of Japan discharge nuclear radioactive water into the sea.By referring to the existing international laws,international conventions and representative principles,this paper will analysis the nature and damage of nuclear radioactive water into the sea and then study the regulation of discharge radioactive water by national responsibility,after that this paper will summarize the problems and practical difficulties of the current regulation of this act by international law and through the above discussion and propose corresponding countermeasures and suggestions.