Japanese Senior Official: "Regarding Contaminated Water Discharge, We Do Not Want Complaints from Korea"

Contaminated water tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] A senior Japanese government official reportedly made remarks to the effect of "not wanting to hear protests from countries like Korea and China" regarding the decision to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean.

According to the Sankei Shimbun on the 14th, Japanese government spokesperson Kato Katsunobu, Chief Cabinet Secretary, stated at a regular briefing on the 13th regarding the contaminated water discharge issue, "It is very important to seek understanding from neighboring countries, including South Korea and China."

However, another government official reportedly expressed indignation, saying, "We do not want to hear from countries like China or South Korea," the media reported.

Earlier, on the 13th, the South Korean government expressed "strong regret" over Japan's decision to discharge contaminated water into the ocean and stated that it would take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its people.

In response, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato claimed, "Nuclear facilities worldwide, including those in China, South Korea, and Taiwan, discharge liquid waste containing tritium based on each country's regulatory standards aligned with international guidelines," and added, "No effects attributable to tritium have been observed in those surrounding areas."

The Japanese government plans to dilute the radioactive contaminated water with water to reduce the tritium concentration to 1/40th of the standard level before discharge, maintaining that the ocean discharge of treated water containing tritium is also conducted at domestic and international nuclear power plants.

Meanwhile, Japanese Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Aso Taro reportedly claimed regarding the contaminated water containing tritium, "Even if you drink that water, nothing will happen," according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.

Deputy Prime Minister Aso also said, "The concentration of tritium that Japan will discharge is lower than what China or South Korea (nuclear power plants) are releasing into the sea," and added, "(Japan's decision to discharge contaminated water) is based on scientific grounds, and I think it should have been decided sooner..."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.