South Korean opposition lawmakers and activists shout next to boxes containing some 2 million signatures against the Japanese government's plan to release Fukushima wastewater, during a rally to deliver the signatures to the Presidential Office in Seoul on August 18, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)
South Korean opposition parties and civic organizations announced their plan to send a petition to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) campaigning against Japan’s plan to discharge nuclear wastewater into the Pacific.
The Democratic Party, Justice Party, Basic Income Party, and Progressive Party, along with civic organizations and religious groups, held a news conference at the National Assembly in Seoul on Aug 17 announcing the planned submission of a petition to the UNHRC.
They emphasized that the radioactive-contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that Japan plans to release as early as this summer affects the sea beyond its borders. Therefore, it cannot be solely Japan’s own decision and the plan requires more sophisticated scientific analysis and broader consultation.
Protests continue within South Korea against Japan’s discharge plan and some South Korean groups have started to question the government’s capabilities in protecting its people
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Sunday he will meet fishermen as soon as Monday to seek their understanding of the government's plan to release radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant.
Getting the tacit approval of organizations representing the fisherman is considered in Japan as the final hurdle for the plan to release the waste water, a move Tokyo says it wants to begin this summer.
ALSO READ: Fukushima: Mothers' group voices concerns on wastewater release
"I would like to directly talk to the fishermen about the government's intentions," Kishida told reporters after visiting the Fukushima facility.
Kishida's government will decide as soon as Tuesday when to start releasing the water, likely late this month, Japanese media have reported. The prime minister declined to say when it would begin.
"The entire government will make a final decision after checking the status of the efforts to ensure safety and counter reputational damage," he said.
On March 11, 2011, an earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi plant's power supply and cooling systems, sparking a nuclear meltdown in three reactors and contaminating the cooling water. The radioactive water has been collected, filtered, and stored in around 1,000 tanks, which will hit their capacity of 1.37 million tons in early 2024.
The South Korean petition calls for a UNHRC special rapporteur on the environment, health, and food to investigate the human rights violations caused by the planned ocean discharge.
Doubts have been raised in South Korea after Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported earlier this week that the Seoul government and the ruling People Power Party had approached Tokyo with a proposal through unofficial channels to initiate the release as early as possible to minimize the potential impact on next year’s general elections.
ALSO READ: Analysts: Tokyo nuclear wastewater discharge all about money
“The Yoon government and the People Power Party should immediately give the public an official explanation,” said Woo Won-sik on his Facebook page on Aug 18, demanding an investigation into the issue.
Woo leads the Democratic Party committee opposing Tokyo's proposal to discharge contaminated water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.
Park Ku-yeon, the first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said on Aug 18 that the report was untrue, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Meanwhile, South Korea has now completed a third round of discussions with Japan on the Fukushima plan and Park said the outcome of the talks will be disclosed next week.
But protests continue within South Korea against Japan’s discharge plan and some South Korean groups have started to question the government’s capabilities in protecting its people.
On Aug 16, Lawyers for a Democratic Society, a human rights-focused non-governmental organization also known as Minbyun, said it filed a petition with South Korea’s Constitutional Court accusing South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and other officials of violating people’s basic rights
On Aug 16, Lawyers for a Democratic Society, a human rights-focused non-governmental organization also known as Minbyun, said it filed a petition with South Korea’s Constitutional Court accusing South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and other officials of violating people’s basic rights.
READ MORE: Expert: IAEA’s Fukushima report wrong
Minbyun said this is because the officials failed to fulfill their constitutional obligations such as using diplomatic measures to prevent Japan from releasing nuclear-contaminated water, conducting an independent assessment and radioactivity inspection, and providing its people with proper information and opportunity to take part in the decision-making process.
The petition was signed by about 40,000 people, including fishermen, related businesses, and haenyeo divers.
Haenyeo, or “sea women”, are female divers who make their living by diving into the sea to harvest seafood without wearing oxygen masks.
"It is a violation of fundamental rights, including the right to life, that the government did not announce a statement of opposition or take measures according to the international law with regard to the release of the contaminated water," lawyer Lee Ye-ji said during a news conference on Aug 16.
“The Fukushima nuclear accident is the worst nuclear accident in human history, along with the Chernobyl nuclear accident in Ukraine,” said Korea Federation for Environmental Movement Secretary General Kim Chun-yi, referring to the 1986 nuclear meltdown in the then Soviet Union.
The two accidents are the only ones to receive the highest level on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale used by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Noting that cesium levels of rockfish found in the port near the Fukushima Daiichi plant in May were 180 times the standard, Kim said the discharge plan threatens the livelihoods of fishermen around the Pacific and the diets of people across the region.
With Reuters inputs
