"Trilateral Summit of South Korea, the US, and Japan: Effectively Gaining a Free Pass for Contaminated Water"

"Japanese Prime Minister Inspects Fukushima Immediately Upon Return"
Discharge of Contaminated Water Expected by End of This Month

Professor Lee Young-chae of Japan's Keisen Jogakuen University evaluated the South Korea-U.S.-Japan summit, saying, "It seems that Japan clearly obtained a pardon for discharging contaminated water, and it should be seen as a procedure approving this."

Professor Lee appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 21st and said, "They said the South Korea-U.S.-Japan summit did not discuss it, and the South Korea-Japan summit excluded it from the agenda, but later the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it was specifically discussed at the U.S.-Japan summit."

He added, "Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that when he returns to Tokyo, he will visit Fukushima to conduct a final inspection to see if it is well managed, and in a way, the U.S. agreed to cooperate on countermeasures here as well."

President Yoon Suk-yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pose at Camp David, the U.S. President's retreat, where the trilateral summit was held on the 18th (local time).
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

He also predicted the timing of the contaminated water discharge to be at the end of this month. Professor Lee said, "As soon as Prime Minister Kishida returned from the U.S., he went straight to Fukushima to inspect the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) facility and met with the chairman and president of Tokyo Electric Power Company," adding, "Today, he met with representatives of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, and according to newspaper reports, the discharge schedule is being notified as the end of August."

Professor Lee explained, "Tomorrow (the 22nd), Japan's Cabinet meeting will officially decide when the discharge timing will be, and since it generally takes about a week after the decision, it is understood that the decision will likely be made by the end of August."

Regarding local public opinion on the Asahi Shimbun report that "South Korea requested early discharge of Fukushima contaminated water," he said, "That article appeared in an analysis of President Yoon Suk-yeol's Liberation Day special pardon on the 15th and in an article forecasting Korea-Japan relations. It mentioned that the South Korean ruling party and government unofficially want early discharge before the general election," adding, "There are various interpretations of this."

Professor Lee said, "Despite the imminent discharge of contaminated water, the Kishida government suddenly announced the end of August after the South Korea-U.S.-Japan summit without any special mention. There is speculation within Japan that this was deliberately done to shift public opinion to say 'South Korea requested this end of August,'" adding, "Since mid-September, bottom trawl fishing will start in the Fukushima area, and fishermen strongly oppose this, so the end of August is the most appropriate timing for discharge. It can be interpreted that they are practically using South Korean public opinion as an excuse."

Regarding the media not clearly identifying the party requesting early discharge, he said, "Although it is said to be an unofficial route involving the South Korean government and ruling party, naturally, the South Korean government and ruling party will deny this," adding, "However, from the perspective of preparing for next year's general election, it can be interpreted that they possibly requested early discharge to claim that there was no impact on surrounding waters after the discharge."

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