Research On The International Legal Liability Of Japan For Discharging Nuclear Sewage

On April 13,2021,the Japanese government announced that millions of tons of nuclear sewage generated by the Fukushima nuclear power plant would be discharged into the sea.Currently,relevant pipelines have been laid,and the latest plan shows that it will start discharging in the spring and summer of 2023.The international community not only pays constant attention to the issue of nuclear sewage discharge,but also condemns Japan’s attitude of not paying attention to environmental protection,with the intention of dissuading Japan from prudently treating the issue of nuclear sewage discharge into the sea.Currently,the international legal regulations on the disposal of nuclear waste,including nuclear sewage,are mainly based on advisory international legal documents,lacking mandatory legal means,which will have an impact on the determination of national responsibility.This paper focuses on the international legal liability of Japan for discharging nuclear sewage.The first part analyzes the current international legal regulation status of nuclear sewage discharge from international conventions and treaties.The second part identifies the international legal liability of Japan for discharging nuclear sewage into the sea.The second part identifies Japan’s international legal liability for discharging nuclear sewage.The discharge of nuclear sewage into the sea can be identified as the liability for international wrongful acts and the liability for transboundary damage caused by acts not prohibited by international law.In addition,this section also discusses the subject and distribution of liability for the discharge of nuclear sewage in Japan.According to the relevant provisions of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage,when significant damage is caused by the discharge of nuclear sewage in Japan,the nuclear facility operator Tokyo Electric Power Company shall first assume the liability for damage compensation.When private entities are insufficient to provide sufficient compensation,the country of origin shall use available financial resources to assume the corresponding supplementary compensation liability.The third part discusses the path and existing problem.It also countermeasures for investigating the national responsibility of Japan’s nuclear sewage discharge into the sea.In response to Japan’s nuclear sewage disposal plan,the international community should uphold the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity.It should also continuously strengthen cooperation to safeguard the marine ecological environment and the overall interests of the international community.After the implementation of Japan’s nuclear sewage discharge into the sea in the future,countries should act together to establish professional investigation and evidence collection agencies.In addition,countries are also actively using international judicial procedures to actively safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.