G/SPS/GEN/1233/Rev.6/Add.1  
 
4 September  2023 
(23-5917) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
  
CURRENT STATUS AFTER THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT ACCIDENT  
COMMUNICATION FROM JAPAN  
Addendum  
The following communication, received on 4 September 2023 , is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Japan . 
 
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1.  In this communication, Japan would like to provide updated information on its communication 
numbered G/SPS/GEN/1233/Rev.6 , circulated on 22 June 2023. Jap an would also like to express its 
regret concerning the WTO -notified emergency measure ( G/SPS/N/CHN/1283 ) taken by China that 
suspends import of all aquatic products from Japan, despite the situation described below and the 
following explanati on that Japan has consistently offered with respect to the safety of the discharge 
of ALPS treated water into the sea, including at the SPS Committee. The measure notified by China is 
totally unacceptable to Japan. Japan has been urging and continues to ur ge China to immediately 
repeal its measure.  
2.  On 24 August, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) started the discharge of ALPS 
treated water into the sea, following the decision of the Government of Japan at the Ministerial Council 
on 22 August. The  Government of Japan is fully committed to taking all possible measures to ensure 
the safety of the ALPS treated water discharge, including by implementing robust monitoring and 
making publicly available the results of the monitoring in a timely and transp arent manner.  
3.  Since the start of the discharge, Japan has been conducting three types of monitoring: 
(i) monitoring of treated water in tanks ; (ii) real -time monitoring ; and (iii) sea area monitoring in a 
multilayered manner with the continued involvement of the International Atomic Energy Agency 
(IAEA). Japan is committed to taking appropriate measures, including suspension of the discharge, if 
any event occurs, such as detection, through the monitoring of the concentration levels, of radioactive 
materials  exceeding the discharge suspension level.  
4.  As part of Japan 's continued effort to ensure transparency, all monitoring results are made 
available on the websites of the Government of Japan and TEPCO as mentioned in (i ) to (iii) below. 
These results clearly show that the tritium concentration level at various monitoring points in the sea 
area is substantially lower than the discharge standard. They also demonstrate that the discharge is 
being conducted as planned and no  unusual situation has taken place to date. In this respect, it should 
be noted that the IAEA concluded in July 2023, after two years of rigorous safety review, that "the 
discharge of the ALPS treated water, as currently planned by TEPCO, will have a negli gible radiological 
impact on people and the environment  "and that  "activity concentrations in international waters will 
not be influenced by the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea and the transboundary impacts 
are therefore negligible ". 
(i) Monitoring of treated water in tanks  
TEPCO 's webpage below is to be updated before each batch of discharge takes place. This  page 
now shows the result of the monitoring of the water that is currently being discharged.  
https://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommission/progress/watertreatment/measurementfacility/in
dex-e.html  G/SPS/GEN/1233/Rev.6/Add.1  
 
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  (ii) Real-time monitoring  
TEPCO 's webpages below show r eal-time data of tritium concentration after dilution, water 
flow rate, and gamma radiation level immediately before the discharge into the sea. These 
pages are updated every hour.  
https://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommission/progress/watertreatment/dischargefacility/index -
e.html  
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/hd/decommission/data/alpsrtmonitoring/index -e.html  
The IAEA also makes these data publicly available on the following IAEA webpage.  
https://www.iaea.org/topics/response/fukushima -daiichi -nuclear -accident/fukushima -daiichi -
alps-treated -water -discharge/tepco -data 
(iii) Sea area m onitoring  
The Overarching Radiation -monitoring data Browsing System (ORBS) compiles the results of 
monitoring activities by different entities of Japan.  
ORBS: https://www.monitororbs.jp/index_en.html  
In addition, TEPCO and the Ministry of the Environment and Fisheries Agency publish their 
latest monitoring results, including concentration of tritium and other radionuclides in sea 
water and fishery products, on the foll owing webpages respectively. These data are updated 
on a daily or weekly basis.  
TEPCO:  https://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommission/progress/watertreatment/monitoring/ind
ex-e.html  
Ministry of the Environment (MOE ): 
https://shorisui -monitoring.env.go.jp/en/  
Fisheries Agency:  
https://www.jfa.maff.go.j p/e/inspection/index.html#rapid  
5.  The ALPS treated water is sufficiently purified until the concentration of radioactive materials other 
than tritium is below the regulatory standard and it is diluted by seawater before be ing discharged. 
Through the ALPS treatment, which has sufficient and stable purification capabilities, the concentration 
level of radioactive materials is rendered less than the regulatory standard. As for tritium, numerous 
operating nuclear facilities aro und the world, including nuclear reactors in China, discharge more 
tritium on an annual basis than the tritium contained in ALPS treated water from Fukushima Daiichi 
Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS). For instance, the amount of tritium to be released annually  from 
FDNPS is approximately1/10 (one -tenth) of the amount of tritium released from Qinshan Nuclear 
Power Plant in China.  
6.  Under the SPS Agreement, it is required that all SPS measures be applied based on scientific 
principles. However, China adopted the m easure to suspend import of all aquatic products from Japan 
notwithstanding the above -mentioned scientific information provided by Japan. Thus, 
China 's implementation of the measure cannot be regarded as being based on scientific principles. 
This has becom e apparent especially after Japan 's release of the monitoring results following the start 
of the discharge of ALPS treated water, as described above.  
7.  Japan remains ready to provide any further explanation required or to have science -based 
discussions to di spel any concerns or misunderstandings with regard to the safety of the ALPS treated 
water discharge, and to provide assurance that there is no need for any emergency measures such as 
the one taken by China. In addition, for the sake of a rules -based resol ution, Japan made a request 
for discussion on emergency measures based on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership 
Agreement, an international agreement binding Japan and China that applies to the current case.  
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