Government Conveys Concern to Prime Minister Kishida Over Decision to Discharge Nuclear Wastewater

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The government is reportedly set to convey its concerns regarding Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's reaffirmation of the policy to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on the 18th, “The Japanese decision to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant was made without sufficient consultation with neighboring countries, and we have serious concerns and opposition as it may affect the health and safety of our people and the marine environment.” He added, “We will continue to convey our position and concerns to the Japanese side on various occasions.”

He said, “We are prioritizing the health and safety of our citizens and responding to Japan’s unilateral push to discharge contaminated water into the ocean,” and “We will cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the international community to transparently and thoroughly verify the entire process of contaminated water treatment.”

Prime Minister Kishida, after visiting the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant for the first time since his inauguration the previous day, told reporters, “Seeing many (contaminated water) tanks standing there, I deeply felt that it cannot be postponed. It is important to explain with transparency.”

This indicates his intention to proceed as planned with the Japanese government’s plan to filter the Fukushima nuclear power plant’s contaminated water through the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) and discharge it into the sea.

So far, our government has urged Japan to establish a bilateral consultative body to discuss the Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated water issue in detail. Additionally, Korean experts are included in the international inspection team formed by the IAEA in July and will participate in future verification work.

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