Who will control nuclear scare-mongering in Pakistani media?

Sajid Hayat

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Deputy Chief of Mission ITO Takeshi expresses ‘disappointment’ on factually incorrect editorial, malicious content distributed by ghost news agency
Professional journalists are arrested on different charges but nuclear scare mongers and established exploiters go scot-free

It is very alarming that Japanese Embassy had to upload on social media the letter it sent to publisher of Daily Times on September 20, 2023.

Deputy Chief of Mission ITO Takeshi.

He began with “I am writing … to express my deep disappointment when I read your paper’s editorial titled “Japanese Water” on September 5^th”.

The editorial in question looks like a malicious attempt to state that the water released into sea from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is harmful for humanity and environment, carrying hazardous matter.

First and foremost, a line has to be drawn for media outlets to write on the topics that demand specialized knowledge of the subject. For matters related to nuclear threats, there has to be a body to review such reports before they are published.

Any irresponsible write-up can spark scare and even raise tensions, especially when it involves international players, which it always does.

ITO Takeshi clarifies: “ALPS treated water to be discharged from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is safe based on scientific evidence. The concentration of tritium in the discharged water will be 1/40 of the regulatory standard and 1/7 of the WHO drinking water standard, and the concentration of radioactive materials other than tritium will be less than 1/100 of the regulatory standards.”

He mentions: “One important fact, which your editorial failed to mention … is that nuclear power stations all over the world regularly discharge tritium into the sea.”

“For example, the annual amount of tritium discharged from the Qinshan Nuclear Power Station, the Yangjiang Nuclear Power Station, and the Ningde Nuclear Power Station in China, is approximately 218TBq, 112TBq, and 102TBq respectively. These amounts meet international standards set by the IAEA and, as far as I know, have never caused any problems. The planned annual amount of tritium to be discharged from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is less than 22 TBq, which is smaller by far than those from any nuclear power stations in China,” he states.

The reason for mentioning China in the letter was obvious. China has been pursuing its rivalry with Japan at all levels. Positions on the international chess board have changed. China has emerged as a world power, pursuing very ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which Pakistan is a part of. Mega investments in Pakistan have been made in almost all sectors, including media.

“Our Embassy inquired the information to Daily Times, to one of the top leaders of the paper, as well as your staff reporters in Islamabad, regarding “ABC” in order to provide relevant information to “the media/distributor,” but received no answer. Your paper did not even answer to our question regarding where, if not in Pakistan, in which country, the HQs of this “ABC” is located. My staff tried to find news media reprinting the same article from “ABC,” but could not find any, except for the Daily Times,” writes Deputy Chief of Japanese Mission in Islamabad ITO Takeshi.

Other than the editorial, ITO Takeshi was uneasy to find some kind of a ghost news agency which a tirade against Japan was attributed to. “Prior to the editorial, the Daily Times published an article, attributed to “ABC,” on August 25th titled “Japan’s irresponsible behavior to harm whole planet: China,” which is simply a verbatim quote from a Chinese spokesperson,” he said.

“Our Embassy inquired the information to Daily Times, to one of the top leaders of the paper, as well as your staff reporters in Islamabad, regarding “ABC” in order to provide relevant information to “the media/distributor,” but received no answer. Your paper did not even answer to our question regarding where, if not in Pakistan, in which country, the HQs of this “ABC” is located. My staff tried to find news media reprinting the same article from “ABC,” but could not find any, except for the Daily Times,” he wrote.

Such ghost news distributors abound in Pakistan and some newspapers are no more than landfill for their content. A brief overview of Daily Times reveals that it is mostly fed by stolen material. The newspaper is known for not paying salaries to its staff. Scores of its former employees have got their dues back through court interventions. Its press had been sealed for non-payment of dues. Many have still been in courts pursuing cases against Daily Times management.

The last thing one could have expected of a newspaper is scare-mongering about nuclear issues. ITO Takeshi is concerned about these professional matters. It is about time that authorities in Pakistan were also concerned about press regulations. If nuclear scare-mongers go unchecked, what is the point of picking up established journalists on charges related to their work?