Main opposition urges gov’t to withdraw plan to send team to Japan to assess Fukushima water release plan

The principle opposition Democratic Get together on Saturday urged the federal government to withdraw its plan to ship an inspection staff to Japan to evaluate Tokyo’s plan to discharge radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear energy plant, saying it might solely “give justification” to Japan’s plan.

Rep. Park Sung-joon, the Democratic Get together’s spokesperson, mentioned the Japanese authorities has no plan to permit the Seoul delegation to examine the protection of the discharge and can go forward with the plan in July whatever the staff’s actions.

“The Japanese authorities’s angle makes it clear that the inspection staff the federal government is sending is barely a formality to justify its plan to discharge contaminated water,” Park mentioned in a written assertion.

Earlier within the day, Seoul’s international ministry mentioned South Korea and Japan have agreed that the delegation will go to Japan for 4 days. It got here days after President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed Sunday on the dispatch of specialists from Seoul.

In line with Park Ku-yeon, the primary deputy chief of the Workplace for Authorities Coverage Coordination, the inspection staff will comprise some 20 specialists in security regulation, examine the operation of therapy and discharge services in Fukushima and safe the knowledge South Korea must conduct a scientific analysis of the contaminated water. It reportedly plans to go to Japan beginning Might 23.

However earlier this week, Japanese Business Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura mentioned the inspection is meant to “assist deepen understanding” concerning the security of the discharge, to not consider or certify its security.

“An inspection staff that may solely evaluation data offered by the Japanese authorities and have a look round areas the Japanese authorities permits entry to can not consider security correctly,” the Democratic Get together spokesperson mentioned.

He referred to as on Yoon to not ship the staff and conduct a separate and extra thorough evaluation of Japan’s plan as a substitute.

The inspection comes amid considerations over potential well being and environmental hazards from the discharge of greater than 1 million tons of water from the wrecked plant.

The Fukushima plant has saved greater than 1.3 million tons of water by way of a customized purification system generally known as the Superior Liquid Processing System since three reactors melted down after a strong earthquake struck off the coast in March 2011.