Japan: "Korean Inspection Team Unable to Investigate Contaminated Water... It Is Merely for Understanding"

Nishimura Keisansho "Cannot Participate in Inspection Team Safety Evaluation"
Hayashi Foreign Minister "Hope Understanding of Contaminated Water Safety Expands"

Amid the agreement between the South Korean and Japanese leaders to dispatch a team of Korean experts to inspect the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant site, the Japanese government drew a line by stating that "the Fukushima inspection team is solely for the understanding of the Korean public" and that the inspection team cannot participate in the safety evaluation or investigation of the contaminated water discharge.

According to Kyodo News on the 9th, Nishimura Yasutoshi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, said at a press conference following a cabinet meeting that morning regarding the acceptance of the Korean inspection team dispatch, "It is not about evaluating and confirming safety like the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)." He added, "We hope the inspection team will deepen their understanding by seeing the site," and said, "We would like to politely provide explanations on-site."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister Nishimura emphasized again, "This inspection is an arrangement between South Korea and Japan based on the IAEA's response," and "It is not a joint verification operation between South Korea and Japan." Regarding interpretations in South Korea that the inspection team would conduct verification independently from the IAEA, he responded, "There have been cases where similar inspection teams were accepted from countries such as the United States."

In response, Japanese media analyzed this as a de facto act of restraint. The Mainichi Shimbun reported, "Minister Nishimura restrained South Korea by stating that the dispatch of the inspection team is solely a measure to assist the Korean side's understanding and is not about evaluating or confirming the safety of the contaminated water."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa gave a similar response. The plan is to show the inspection team the process of treating the contaminated water and to alleviate the heightened concerns within South Korea ahead of the discharge.

At a regular press conference that day, Foreign Minister Hayashi said in response to questions about the dispatch of the inspection team, "Through director-general level consultations and others, we have provided information and explanations based on scientific evidence regarding the safety of the treated water (the Japanese government's term for contaminated water)." He added, "The Japanese government hopes that the dispatch of the Korean experts' inspection team and director-general level briefings will broaden the understanding of the Korean public regarding the safety of the marine discharge."

He continued, "At the recent South Korea-Japan summit, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio explained that transparency was secured through IAEA verification regarding the contaminated water," and explained, "The leaders of both countries agreed on the dispatch of the on-site inspection team in May from the perspective of deepening understanding within South Korea."

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