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| Protesters wearing masks of President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida participate in a rally against the Japanese government's decision to release treated radioactive water from Fukushima nuclear power plant, in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, May 6. AP-Yonhap |
Inspection feared to be misused to justify Japan's wastewater release plan
By Lee Hyo-jin
Doubts are rising over the effectiveness of a team of Korean experts heading to Japan to inspect treated radioactive wastewater set to be discharged from a tsunami-hit nuclear power plant, as the level of access the group will be granted remains unclear.
There are even concerns that the Korean team could be used by Japan to justify the release of the treated wastewater.
During a summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Sunday, Japan agreed to allow the visit by a team of Korean experts to inspect the safety of the treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant ahead of the planned discharge into the Pacific Ocean.
The group of local experts will be dispatched to the Fukushima nuclear power plant from May 23 to 24, or for a longer period, with the detailed size of the panel and inspection plan to be decided through working-level meetings between the foreign ministries of the two countries later this week.
The arrangement came amid mounting concerns among the Korean public about Japan's plan to discharge the treated wastewater from the tsunami-struck nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean as early as this summer. Once initiated, the water release process is expected to continue for the next few decades.
Japan claims that the filtered water has been tested for concentration levels of radioactive nuclides. But Korea ― along with China and other Pacific Rim countries ― has been demanding that Tokyo cancel the planned dumping of more than a million tons of liquid radioactive waste.
Although details of the inspection team have yet to be set, the two countries do not seem to be on the same page about the exact role of the Korean delegation.
Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin said, Tuesday, that the role of the inspection team will be "de facto verification" of the safety of the wastewater. But on the same day, Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said that the purpose of the inspection is not to "evaluate or certify the safety of the treated water."
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| A worker stands near tanks used to store treated radioactive water after it was used to cool down melted fuel at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, in this March 3, 2022 photo. AP-Yonhap |
Korea's presidential office, for its part, did not clarify whether the experts will be given the authority to verify the safety of the radioactive water through an independent investigation.
"As far as I know, the verification process will be carried out by experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and detailed plans have yet to be set between the two governments," a senior presidential official told reporters.
A task force under the IAEA is set to issue a comprehensive report on Japan's water release plan by the end of June, concluding its years-long safety review. In its latest report published on May 4, the task force positively assessed the activities of Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority, saying that it has implemented an appropriate legal and regulatory framework for the safety of the treated water.
Yang Ki-ho, a professor of Japanese studies at Sungkonghoe University, said that sending the inspection team does not mean that Japan intends to give Korea a bigger say on the issue. Rather, Tokyo may use it to justify the release of the contaminated water, saying that it did its best to dispel the concerns of the neighboring country.
"I think the Korean experts will not be able to conduct a proper investigation. They are likely to be briefed by the Tokyo Electric Power Company and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on their data," he said.
"The Japanese government will only show what they want us to see."
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) expressed strong opposition to the planned dispatch of the Korean group to Fukushima, arguing that the visit would eventually end up supporting Japan.
"It seems that the government is trying to be a voluntary helper in Japan's plan to discharge the contaminated water from the nuclear power plant into the ocean," DPK Chairman Rep. Lee Jae-myung said during a party meeting, Wednesday. "The government should completely reconsider the dispatch of the inspection team which does not have the authority to conduct a thorough verification."
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