Joint Statement from South Korean Civil Society Groups
On April 13, the Japanese government officially announced its decision to discharge contaminated wastewater from Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. In the decade since the Fukushima nuclear accident, the issue of radioactive wastewater discharge has been strongly opposed not only in Japan, but also by neighboring countries including South Korea.
The Japanese government insists that through staggered releases and dilution the contaminated water will be harmless to humans. However, even if diluted the total amount of radioactive material thrown into the sea remains unchanged. If the radioactive wastewater is discharged, it will be a irrevocable disaster not only for marine ecosystem but for the human.
On April 12, a joint Korean-Japanese committee for 10th anniversary of Fukushima nuclear disaster delivered an international petition to the Japanese government. The petition was signed by 64,600 people from 86 countries. Calls have grown internationally for the continued long-term storage through building additional storage tanks etc., rather than ocean discharge.
Today, the Japanese government made a choice that should not have been made. Anti-Nuke Citizen Action Committee defines the Japanese government’s decision as nuclear terrorism, and will take all measures to prevent the discharge of radioactive wastewater into the oceans in the future.
Anti-Nuke Citizen Action Committee
Christian Environmental Movement Solidarity, Workers’ Solidarity, Green Party, Green Alliance, Daejeon Nuclear Hope, Buddhist Ecological Contents Research Institute, Buddhist Environment Solidarity, Samcheok Nuclear Power Plant Anti-Committee, Civic Radiation Monitoring Center, ICOOP Cooperative (Gangnam, Gangseo, Dobong Nowon Stepping Stone, Seodaemun Mapo Eunpyeong, Seoul, Songpa), Energy and Climate Policy Research Institute, Energy Justice Action, Joint Action to Secure the Safety of Yeonggwang Nuclear Power Plant, Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Adjacent Region Migration Countermeasure Committee, Justice Party, Political Mothers, Post-nuclear Race Gyeongju Citizens Joint Action, Anti-Nuke Energy Transition Jeonbuk Solidarity, Jeju North Koreans’ Action, Participation Solidarity, Catholic Men’s Ministers’ Council Justice Peace Environment Committee, Catholic Jesus Company’s Independence Committee, Drawing Abstracts, Korea YWCA Federation, Korean Catholic Women’s Capital Presidents’ Association JPIC Division, Hansalim Association, Nuclear Free Daegu Citizen’s Action for the World, Chungbuk Action for a Nuclear-Free Society, Gochang-gun Action for a Nuclear-Free World, Gwangju-Jeonnam Action in a Nuclear World, Korean Federation of Environmental Movements, Environmental Justice.
For more information contact:
Hye Lyn Kim
International Solidarity Coordinator
Friends of The Earth Korea/Korea Federation for Environmental Movements, KFEM
Email: naserian@kfem.or.kr
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