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Members of the Korean Peoples’ Action Against Japan’s Ocean Dumping of Radioactive Wastewater hold a press conference outside the National Assembly on Aug. 22, 2024, to mark the one-year anniversary of the start of Japan’s release of contaminated wastewater into the ocean. (courtesy of the People’s Action)

Saturday, Aug. 24, marks one year since the Japanese government began discharging radioactive water stored at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean. Opponents of the ocean dumping are calling for South Korea to form a coalition with neighboring countries to file an international suit against Japan. The water’s release affects not only South Korea but also the island nations of the Pacific.

Korean Peoples’ Action Against Japan’s Ocean Dumping of Radioactive Wastewater, a coalition of civic and environmental groups, joined the group Minbyun - Lawyers for a Democratic Society to hold a debate forum at the National Assembly on Aug. 22. Attendees discussed ways to fight the ocean release legally. 

Attorney Kim Young-hee (member of an anti-nuclear group of attorneys called Sunflower) explained that even if there is no conclusive evidence about the effects of the radioactive water, the London Convention calls for certain preventative measures that minimize environmental damage when dumping waste into the ocean. 

“The convention should also apply to Fukushima wastewater,” Kim asserted. 

“Japan’s discharge of radioactive water into the ocean is not a problem for only Koreans. It’s a problem for the entire global community,” Kim continued. 

“If South Korea files a suit in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea alone, then all the burden of proof falls on us. But if we file as a coalition with China or other Pacific island nations, then we make the case into one concerning the pollution of international waters,” Kim asserted. 

In short, Japan’s discharge of radioactive water into the ocean negatively impacts the marine environment of the entire international community. 

“Even if filing a joint suit is difficult under the current administration, we can make preparations for when the next administration takes power. We have to start now,” Kim insisted.  

Some people said that because the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is uninterested in solving the problem, the opposition needs to work that much harder to pass legislation that will protect the people. 

“We have a new National Assembly, so we have the opportunity to completely ban all seafood imports from Japan, which is what China, Hong Kong and Russia have done. The opposition also needs to draft legislation that will ban potentially harmful ingredients in our children’s school lunches,” said Kwon Jong-tak, a joint chair of the coalition of activist groups at the forum. 

“Even before the national legislative processes, local governments can issue related ordinances to get the ball rolling,” Kwon said. 

Others asserted that the environmental effects of the discharge need to be thoroughly monitored and analyzed over a long period of time. Jang Jeong-wook, professor emeritus at Matsuyama University, has studied issues related to nuclear energy in both South Korea and Japan for a long time. 

Tanks filled with contaminated water sit on the site of the Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) nuclear power plant, run by TEPCO, in Japan. (EPA/Yonhap)

“When it comes to dumping radioactive water into the ocean, the effects need to be studied in the long term, but the South Korean government is satisfied with saying, ‘A year later, there are no problems’ while sweeping aside any concerns as paranoia,” Jang said. 

“They have failed to understand the core of the problem. Even at Chernobyl, not that many people died immediately after the accident,” Jang continued. 

“Most urgently, we need to demand that all seafood imports from Japan come labeled with the results of analyses that measure levels of strontium-89 and 90,” Jang demanded.

“Up until now, Japan has made excuses by saying such analyses take at least a week, which will impact the freshness of seafood, but even Japanese media outlets are reporting that there are expedited analyses that can be completed within two to three days,” Jang said. 

Because strontium has properties that are similar to those of calcium, it often accumulates in our bones when it enters our bodies, and could cause leukemia and other types of bone marrow cancer. 

“In October of last year, a worker who was cleaning the ALPS [system for purifying radioactive water] pipes died in an accident. In December, a worker at Reactor 2 was exposed to radiation. Since Japan began the ocean release, there have continually been accidents. Japanese media outlets have been reporting that the process is not safe, but our own government keeps insisting that it’s safe, acting as a sort of proxy for the Japanese government,” said Joo Jae-jun, a joint chair of the activist coalition. 

South Korea’s Office for Government Policy Coordination issued a press release on Aug. 21 saying, “The results of 49,633 tests for radioactivity conducted from Aug. 24, 2023, to Aug. 19 of this year reveal no instances of radiation in our waters, seafood, and ballast water that violate safety standards.” 

The Tokyo Electric Power Company has released 55,000 tons of contaminated water into the ocean thus far, and began its eighth discharge on Aug. 7.

By Yoon Yeon-jeong, staff reporter

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