The Illegality And Accountability Of Japan’s Nuclear Sewage Discharge In To The Sea From The Perspective Of The Draft Articles On Responsibility Of States

Since the Sewage Leak at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Japan in March 2011,Japan’s every move on the issue of nuclear wastewater treatment has received close attention from the international community.In April 2021,the Japanese government officially announced that the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant nuclear sewage will be discharged into the sea,causing an uproar in the international community,and on the morning of July 22,2022,the Japan Atomic Energy Regulatory Commission officially approved Tokyo Electric Power Company’s plan for the discharge of nuclear contaminated water after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident,further advancing its illegal plot.The ocean is a common resource of mankind,not a "sewer" of the Japanese family,and a large amount of radioactive material contained in nuclear sewage is discharged into the sea if it is not properly treated,which will not only have an impact on marine fisheries and marine ecological environment,but also cause unpredictable and serious harm to human health through the continuous aggregation of the food chain.In order to provide theoretical support for international law for China’s resolute opposition to Japan’s act of discharging nuclear sewage into the sea,this paper takes the two constituent elements of Article 2 of the Draft State Responsibility concerning internationally wrongful acts as the main logical guide,and comprehensively demonstrates the many international obligations violated by Japan’s decision to discharge nuclear sewage into the sea from the perspectives of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Substances,and the Convention on Nuclear Safety,and analyzes the reasons for the exemption that the Japanese government may defend its own act of discharging nuclear sewage into the sea,and the circumstances that preclude the illegality of the sewage discharge into the sea.It is then concluded that there is no valid cause of exoneration for Japan’s acts,and there are no circumstances precluding wrongfulness.Japan should strictly follow the state responsibilities set out in the Draft State Responsibility,actively assume the responsibility of stopping the discharge of nuclear sewage into the sea,and fully compensate the injured parties.As a neighbor of Japan,China should make preparations as early as possible,collect evidence,conduct close information exchanges with relevant countries,and be prepared to file litigation or arbitration in response to Japan’s nuclear sewage discharge into the sea.