China slams Japan's Fukushima water discharge plan

Two Chinese officials on Monday lambasted Japan's plan to discharge radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean, calling it "irresponsible."

Zhang Kejian, chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority, told a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors that Japan's plan is not the country's private matter, but a major issue that has an effect on the global marine environment and public health.

In disregard of the legitimate concerns of its own people and other countries, Japan has neither provided a scientific and credible answer to the concerns of all parties nor fully consulted with its neighbors and other stakeholders, Zhang said, adding that it is "extremely irresponsible" for Japan to arbitrarily proceed with its nuclear-contaminated water discharge plan.

On Monday afternoon, Japan started to send seawater into an underwater tunnel built to release radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima plants into the ocean without any prior announcement, according to local media reports.