Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has apologised to the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Caucus leaders for the statement he made about endorsing the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) report on Japan’s plan to discharge treated nuclear wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
And he further clarified his stance that the statement made did not intend to oppose the collective views of MSG nations, instead it was a representation of a sovereign nation’s perspective, based on scientific knowledge.
“I want to make it very clear that I was not opposing your collective views. I issued that statement as a sovereign nation’s leader’s view based on the science,” Mr Rabuka was quoted as saying in a Government statement.
The Government stated that leaders had collectively agreed to adopt a precautionary approach, promoting open dialogue and information sharing between the Pacific Island Forum’s (PIF) Panel of Experts, the IAEA, and Japanese experts, specifically concerning the issue of discharging Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) nuclear waste water.
It stated leaders had urged Japan not to proceed with this discharge until conclusive scientific evidence unequivocally demonstrated its safety.
According to Government, at this point, MSG member nations had refrained from taking individual action on this matter, and have aligned themselves with the broader PIF countries in accepting the IAEA’s offer to establish an elevated dialogue mechanism with the PIF, as well as a permanent monitoring presence at Fukushima.
PIF countries have also collectively agreed to include the Fukushima issue as a standing item on the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM) agenda, it stated.
