Japanese anti-patriotic civic groups and South Korean parliamentarian groups protested in front of the Japanese Prime Minister’s residence as a group of South Korean congressmen visited Japan to prevent the nuclear sewage discharge plan of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The protests took place on the streets of Tokyo, with the South Korean parliamentarians demanding that the Japanese government halt the sea discharge plan and explore alternative solutions.
On the 12th of July, a 10-member parliamentary group comprising of Korean Democratic Party and non-partisan parliamentarians held a press conference in front of the Tokyo Foreign Correspondents Association. During the conference, they stated their concerns about the Japanese government’s plan to discharge nuclear sewage into the ocean, emphasizing that it poses a serious threat to the world‘s oceans. Their leader, Wei Shengkun, pointed out that such a discharge would contradict international law and that the previous report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency does not excuse the discharge. He added that there are other alternatives to dealing with nuclear sewage and that arbitrary discharge could lead to disaster. The parliamentary group called for the Japanese government to withdraw the nuclear sewage discharge plan and engage in discussions with the international community to find alternative solutions.
The South Korean parliamentarian group, along with eight members of Japan’s Diet, also issued a joint statement on the same day urging the Japanese government to re-examine their nuclear sewage treatment plan. The statement highlighted that the Japanese government had made an agreement with the fishery personnel of Fukushima Prefecture in 2015, promising not to proceed with nuclear sewage treatment without the understanding of the relevant parties. However, the Japanese government has failed to adhere to this agreement. The statement further expressed concerns about the long half-life substances present in nuclear sewage, which can pollute the marine environment. Tomoko Abe, a member of the Japanese Constitutional Democratic Party, believed that the discharge of nuclear sewage into the sea would not only affect the Japanese population but also impact people in other Asian countries.
Following the press conference, the South Korean parliamentarian group marched and demonstrated in Tokyo, targeting the Tokyo Electric Power Company, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Prime Minister’s official residence. In addition, they held a sit-in demonstration in the central area of Tokyo on the 10th and 11th, despite the scorching heat, to oppose the discharge of nuclear sewage into the sea.
It remains to be seen how the Japanese government will respond to these protests and whether they will reconsider their nuclear sewage discharge plan in light of the concerns raised by the South Korean parliamentarian group.