Yoon Suk-yeol tells Tokyo to get neighbors' consent on radioactive water

Diplomacy

Published: 26 Jul. 2022, 14:51

Yoon Suk-yeol tells Tokyo to get neighbors' consent on radioactive water

Activists hold a rally condemning the Japanese government’s decision to release contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in front of the Japanese consulate general in Jeju City Tuesday. [NEWS1]

President Yoon Suk-yeol told Japan to get the consent of neighboring countries before it releases contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean from its Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Last Friday, Japanese nuclear regulators approved a plan to release water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant starting next year.

Yoon told reporters Tuesday, "Since the presidential election, I have maintained that [Japan] needs to transparently explain and obtain consent from neighboring countries on the issue of the discharge of its contaminated water."

A massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011, destroying the Fukushima plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco). Japan has struggled with what to do with radioactive water stored in tanks at the plant from before and after the accident.

In April 2021, Tokyo announced a controversial decision to gradually release wastewater into the Pacific Ocean in 2023, which was protested by the Japanese fishing industry, international environmental groups and neighbors Korea and China.

More than 1.3 million tons of contaminated water is stored in tanks at the plant.

The Japanese government and Tepco aim to begin releasing the treated water next spring.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority deemed it safe to release the water, though Tepco acknowledged it will still contain traces of tritium even after treatment. Tritium can cause mutations, tumors and cell death, but Tepco said experts found it is only harmful to humans in large doses and that the water will be diluted and released over decades to reduce tritium levels.

Korean experts and officials are expected to participate in a monitoring of the planned discharge, led by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), according to the Japanese government.

The IAEA says the release meets international standards and will not harm the environment.

Tokyo said it will work with the IAEA to enable a "scientific and objective verification" process for the release of the contaminated water "in accordance with international laws and criteria."

Korea has maintained a ban on all seafood imports from the Fukushima region since 2013 because of concerns over radiation levels.

The issue has been a sore point in bilateral relations, and Japan had been reluctant to agree to Korea joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) because of the seafood ban.

Japan brought up the Fukushima water discharge issue during Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin's visit to Tokyo last week for talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi.

After Japan's announcement Friday, related ministries held an emergency meeting led by Bang Moon-kyu, minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, to discuss a response.

Civic groups and liberal Democratic Party lawmakers criticized the Yoon administration as acquiescing to the plan.

A group of 11 civic groups under the Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations issued a statement Monday demanding the Korean government express a clear position and take countermeasures to Japan's decisions.

Activists have been holding one-man rallies in front of the Japanese embassy in central Seoul every week since Tokyo announced its decision to discharge the water in 2021.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]