PACIFIC

Pacific coalition’s open letter to leaders on Fukushima nuclear waste dumping Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) is among a coalition of concerned civil service organisations, social movements and scholars which issued an open letter urging Pacific leaders to protect the Pacific Ocean and its inhabitants from the impending release of radioactive waste from Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

PCANZ Moderator’s Pentecost Message

Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ) Moderator Right Rev Hamish Galloway has addressed the growing issue of stress, anxiety, and social isolation among young people, with intergenerational disconnect as one of the contributing factors. In his Pentecost Message, Rev. Galloway recalled how the church had fostered intergenerational connections in the society in the past, and its impact on young people’s well-being.

The PCANZ Moderator however, acknowledged the changing times, with the younger generation growing more hostile towards the church, resulting in struggles to connect with them. He encouraged them to be inspired by the in-filling and empowerment of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and the resilient love shown by the early church in the face of hostility.

Finally, he urged them to embrace its role as bearers of God’s hope-inspiring message and lifegiving Spirit to the new generation, enabled by God to bring life to the dry bones of despair (Ezekiel 37).

The coalition was dissatisfied with the lack of progress made by Pacific states to halt the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company’s plan to dump over 1.3 million tonnes of nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. The letter emphasized that the nuclear dumping plan not only poses environmental risks to the Pacific Ocean and its biodiversity, but also contravenes international law and threatens the livelihoods and well-being of Pacific peoples, which have borne the inter-generational consequences of nuclear testing.

It called for Pacific states to oppose Japan’s dumping plans by issuing a strong collective statement of opposition through the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), failing which, economic sanctions could be applied. Also, a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) could initiate a lawsuit against Japan at the Tribunal on the International Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to address the trans-boundary harm caused by the nuclear wastewater release.