On Aug. 24, 2023, the Japanese government decided to start discharging treated Fukushima nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. The entire discharge will last 30 years and, eventually, one million tons of nuclear wastewater will be released into the ocean. Japan’s nuclear wastewater discharge operation marks another international condoning of environmental pollution and the negative political consequences of this could be even more serious than environmental pollution.

However, the Japanese government has not fully disclosed its emissions program to the public. The “Japanese government and Tepco have not been transparent enough about the treatment process or the planned release,” and “many good scientists feel that the data presented so far has been incomplete.” As one of the seven developed countries with the most mature industrial system in the world, Japan discharged nuclear wastewater into the sea without offering complete data to the public and international organizations. This gave the impression to all countries that Japan, as an influential country and a developed country, could discharge nuclear wastewater and only publish partial data, completely ignoring its international responsibilities. Japan is a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Nuclear Safety Convention, but its actions are in total violation of both.

Moreover, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said that the United States was “satisfied with Japan’s plan.” This is all the more reason for other countries to believe that they have no problem doing this and that they will not be penalized in any way. U.S. connivance had as bad an effect as the release of nuclear wastewater from Japan in the long term because it shows America’s indifference to environmental pollution. If the U.S. can take responsibility and make Japan pay for its behavior, then all countries will see the price they must pay for polluting the environment, and they will think twice before trying to pollute the environment. Sadly, the U.S. did not do that. Therefore, the next time a country announces that it is discharging sewage into the sea, or emitting harmful gasses, with only partial data being disclosed, it will be difficult for the United Nations to impose sanctions on that country because they did not do that for Japan. It would be unfair and morally wrong if the international community treated different countries differently.

From now on, all countries can take the precedent of Japan’s unpunished discharge of nuclear wastewater and demand the same treatment (which is no punishment at all) for their own countries when they pollute the environment. In order to avoid such a situation, the best step the international community can take is to immediately pressure Japan to stop discharging nuclear wastewater. It is the only way to stop the Pandora’s Box that is about to open.