Kishida on Timing of Contaminated Water Discharge: "Final Stage for Decision"

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is in the United States to attend the Korea-US-Japan summit, said on the 18th (local time) that the government has "reached the final stage of judgment" regarding the start time of the ocean discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (referred to as "treated water" by the Japanese government), according to Kyodo News.

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida
[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to the report, Prime Minister Kishida announced that he will inspect the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on the 20th. He also expressed his willingness to meet directly with Masanobu Sakamoto, chairman of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations (Zenkoku Gyokyo), who has opposed the discharge, saying he wants to "meet somewhere" to seek understanding.

Earlier, the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) delivered a document to fishermen's groups in 2015 stating that contaminated water would not be disposed of without the understanding of the relevant parties.

Accordingly, the Japanese government focused on persuasion efforts to gain the understanding of fishermen after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a comprehensive report.

Meanwhile, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on the same day, citing multiple government officials, that the Japanese government is likely to hold a cabinet meeting early next week to decide the start time of the discharge and proceed with the discharge within this month.

Prime Minister Kishida is scheduled to return home on the night of the 19th.

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