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| Korean lawmakers hold banners urging Japan to stop releasing wastewater from its Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean during a protest in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, Sunday. From left are Reps. Kang Eun-mi of the minor opposition Justice Party, Woo Won-shik of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and independent Yang Jung-suk. Courtesy of Democratic Party of Korea |
Opposition lawmakers visit Fukushima to join protest
By Nam Hyun-woo
Korean public sentiment over Japan's release of wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is deteriorating rapidly, with the opposition bloc spearheading protests on Tokyo's "irresponsible behavior."
Despite the worsening public sentiment, President Yoon Suk Yeol remains silent on the matter, having Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speak for the government on the matter.
Reps. Woo Won-shik and Yang Yi Won-young of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), Rep. Kang Eun-mi from the minor opposition Justice Party and independent lawmaker Rep. Yang Jung-suk participated in a protest organized by Japan's Social Democratic Party and a number of civic groups in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture.
"This protest is not about a fight between Korea and Japan, it is about taking action to protect the ocean and the future generation," DPK Rep. Woo Won-shik said during the protest.
"The most appropriate way of recovering Japan's reputation is an immediate stop of the release. Through solidarity between the two countries, Japanese people should fix the problems of the Fumio Kishida administration and Koreans should fix that of the Yoon administration."
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| A protestor opposing Japan's release of wastewater from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant wears a hat with a radioactive sign during a rally in central Seoul, Saturday. Yonhap |
The visit came as the latest extent of the opposition's efforts to protest Japan's wastewater release and criticize the Yoon administration's lenient responses.
The DPK, the Justice Party and other minor opposition parties held a joint protest with environmental civic groups in central Seoul on Saturday. Approximately 50,000 people participated according to police.
"Japan has crossed a line that it should have never crossed," DPK Chairman Lee Jae-myung said. "It is a provocation against the entirety of humanity and a proclamation of war on Pacific nations."
He also slammed President Yoon Suk Yeol for "justifying the irresponsible behavior."
"While Japan was contemplating whether it should release the water or not, the person who justified this irresponsibility and supported the decision was Yoon," Lee said. "President Yoon Suk Yeol should remember that he is not the spokesperson for Japan, rather a servant with the responsibility to protect his nation and the lives of its citizens."
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| Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung, center, holds a banner urging Japan to stop releasing wastewater from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant during a protest in central Seoul, Saturday. Yonhap |
During the protest, angry fishermen raised their voices saying that public concern is weakening fishery product sales, while mothers of young children argued that Japan is "passing the responsibility to the future generation."
Yuji Hosaka, a Japan-born naturalized Korean historian, expressed his apology to Korea, saying that "the Japanese government ignored options other than releasing the water to the ocean because of costs" and people should not agree with Japan's rationale.
In an Aug. 23-25 survey by RnSearch, 60.9 percent of respondents said they expect damages from Japan's wastewater release. The poll surveyed 1,013 adults at the request of CBS Nocut News, and further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission's website.
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| Shop owners at Noryangjin Fisheries Market in Dongjak District, Seoul, wait for customers, Sunday, the first weekend after Japan released wastewater from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean on Aug. 24. Newsis |
Against this backdrop, three experts from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety visited an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) office in Fukushima, Sunday, to monitor the release process, following the agreement between the two countries' governments and the IAEA.
Though it remains uncertain how long they will stay there and what processes they will monitor, chances are high that their findings will not be different from Japan's own.
Japan's Ministry of the Environment said Sunday that "the analysis results of seawater, sampled in the morning of Aug. 25 showed that the tritium concentrations were below the lower limit of detection at all 11 sampling points and would have no adverse impact on human health and the environment."
Japan's Fisheries Agency also said that it did not detect tritium in fish caught near the outlet of wastewater treatment facilities.
The Korean government is reiterating the stance that it believes in the IAEA's scientific research, while not stating whether it is supporting or opposing the release.
"Our government hopes, and once again urges, the Japanese government to disclose information in a transparent and responsible manner about the water discharge process that will continue over the next 30 years," Prime Minister Han said during a special statement to the public last week.
While Han made the public statement, the president has not released any messages after Japan began releasing the wastewater on Aug. 24, suggesting that the prime minister's comment will be the highest-level comment from the administration on the matter.
The silence appears to be an attempt to prevent the issue from becoming a subject of political dispute with the opposition side and an aggravation to Yoon's presidency.
The presidential office said, Sunday, it will feature Korean seafood on its cafeteria menu down the road, in order to "encourage the public to consume seafood without concerns." For a week beginning Monday, all daily menus will include seafood, ranging from raw flatfish to grilled mackerel, and from September, seafood dishes will become a regular feature, appearing at least twice a week.
