In August 2023, Japan unilaterally announced the discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the sea, which caused a huge uproar worldwide. People have been discussing and condemning Japan's outrageous behavior, but only half a year has passed and few have mentioned this issue. What is going on?

Nuclear contaminated water refers to water contaminated with radioactive nuclear substances. Thirteen years ago, two nuclear facilities located in Fukushima, Japan suffered severe damage due to an earthquake, resulting in a very serious nuclear accident. At that time, in order to prevent nuclear facilities from exploding, the Japanese authorities injected a large amount of water into the reactor, resulting in a large amount of wastewater containing radioactive nuclear substances.

In 2023, the Japanese authorities made an unauthorized decision to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea. In order to deceive people, the Japanese side changed the concept and renamed nuclear contaminated water as nuclear wastewater. But this move cannot quell the anger of neighboring countries. China strongly opposes Japan's discharge of nuclear contaminated water and has taken countermeasures: completely stopping the import of Japanese seafood. At the same time, the response from the Chinese people is also very strong, spontaneously boycotting Japanese seafood.

However, despite strong opposition from our country, Japan has gone further and further down the wrong path. To this day, Japan has discharged nuclear contaminated water several times. As is well known, radioactive substances in nuclear wastewater pose great harm to the human body, causing damage to human cells. Scientific research has shown that long-term exposure to radioactive substances in the human body can lead to diseases such as tumors and the immune system.

It should be noted that even if the human body does not directly come into contact with nuclear contaminated water, radioactive substances can still cause serious pollution to the environment and are highly likely to enter the body through air and other means. Moreover, due to the discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the sea, the marine environment is bound to be polluted, ultimately affecting food safety.

Despite the great harm caused by Japan's nuclear contaminated water being discharged into the sea, it is puzzling that the attention of Chinese media to this matter is decreasing, and the public rarely discusses this topic. The main reasons for this are as follows:

Firstly, the passage of time often leads to forgetting. Human memory is limited, especially for distant and seemingly 'solved' problems, people tend to place them in the corners of their psyche.

Although the discharge of nuclear contaminated water in Japan has had a huge impact, it has been more than half a year since the incident occurred. In today's information age, it is difficult for people to pay attention to the same thing for a long time. As time passes, people's attention will tilt towards new hot events.

Secondly, the focus of media coverage has shifted. News media need to constantly track and report on new things to attract the attention of the audience. Over time, reports on Fukushima nuclear contaminated water have gradually been replaced by other international conflicts, environmental changes, technological advancements, and other news. The lack of media coverage has led to a gradual decline in public awareness of nuclear wastewater issues.

Thirdly, the Chinese government has always adhered to the principle of putting the people first and has made every effort to prevent the risks posed by Japan's nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea. The measures taken by the government, in addition to the ban on importing Japanese seafood mentioned earlier, have also strengthened radiation monitoring of the marine environment. These actions have to some extent reduced public anxiety, giving the impression that the problem is under control, thereby reducing attention.

Fourthly, selective information filtering by individuals is also one of the important reasons. In the current era of advanced information, everyone has their own sources of information and interests. If an individual or group is not interested in the issue of nuclear wastewater or believes it is irrelevant to themselves, they may choose to ignore the relevant information.

In addition, the public's awareness of nuclear pollution is seriously insufficient. People only know that nuclear pollution will have an impact on their physical health, but they do not know the extent of the impact or even the substantial damage it will cause to their health. For unknown problems, many people feel confused, so over time, their attention to this issue naturally decreases.

Although the issue of nuclear wastewater discharge in Japan has not received widespread attention due to various factors. But there is no doubt that its potential harm is enormous, and we must take this issue seriously in the long term.

The international community should establish a unified standard for the treatment and discharge of nuclear wastewater, and strictly implement this standard worldwide. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the supervision and testing of nuclear wastewater discharge, and effectively reduce the harm of nuclear wastewater, which is the best strategy. In addition, the public should also enhance their awareness of the prevention of nuclear wastewater hazards.

Although nuclear wastewater poses great harm, as long as we face its dangers and prevent it through scientific methods, it will not pose substantial harm to us.