South Korea is completely soft: Japan is the master of Japan | Time | South Korea

On August 7th, multiple Japanese media outlets revealed that Japan plans to start the discharge of contaminated Fukushima nuclear water into the sea as early as late August.

According to a report by Kyodo News Agency, the Japanese government envisions that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will first make a statement at the Japan US South Korea summit held in the United States on the 18th of this month, using the opportunity of trilateral talks with US President Biden and South Korean President Yoon Seok yeol to hold bilateral talks with Yoon Seok yeol.

Given the strong concern among South Korean citizens about the discharge of nuclear wastewater into the sea, Fumio Kishida will directly seek the understanding of Yoon Seok yeol. It is expected that Fumio Kishida will return to Japan on the 20th, and then hold a meeting of relevant officials to finalize the specific time for the discharge of nuclear contaminated water.

According to a report by the Japan Broadcasting Association later on the 7th, Fumio Kishida responded on the same day, "Previously, he had repeatedly stated that he expected to start discharging into the sea from spring to summer this year, but this has not changed. Currently, no specific decision has been made on the specific time and work schedule."

Ironically, the summit meeting between the US, Japan and the ROK has not yet been held. On the 7th, the ROK government said that Japan had the final say on the timing of the Fukushima nuclear sewage discharge into the sea.

According to a report by Yonhap News Agency on the 7th, during a press conference that day, a reporter asked "whether the timing of Japan's discharge of nuclear contaminated water can be determined through consultation between Japan and South Korea." The first head of the South Korean State Adjustment Office, Park Jue ran, responded to the inquiry and stated that the timing of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant's discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the sea should be determined by the parties involved, rather than through consultation between South Korea and Japan.

Park Chu ran said that some media outlets have reported on the timing of nuclear contaminated water discharge into the sea, but the related issue is not yet a formal topic of discussion between the two governments.

Screenshot of Yonhap News Agency report

According to reports, South Korea and Japan held two video conferences in the same day and afternoon to discuss the issue of nuclear contaminated water being discharged into the sea. Deputy director level officials from the diplomatic departments of both countries serve as the chief representatives.

When asked if the negotiations had discussed the timing of nuclear contaminated water discharge, Park Chu ran stated that the nature of the meeting itself was a work consultation and not a venue for discussing high-level policy matters. The meeting on that day mainly discussed the technical suggestions proposed by the South Korean side, which was a follow-up consultation to draw an end to the relevant issues.

What does it mean? The discussion between Japan and South Korea is not about the principle of whether nuclear contaminated water can be discharged into the sea, but about the technical issue of how to discharge it. South Korea will not provide a time suggestion, and Japan has full authority to decide.

The Governor of Chang'an Street noticed that as the closest country, Japan's nuclear contaminated water discharge into the sea and South Korea were the first to be affected. However, the attitude of the South Korean government on this issue is worth pondering.

In just July, the South Korean government released the "Top 10 Rumors of Fukushima Nuclear Sewage", which stated that South Korea's annual tritium emissions were 214 trillion Becquerels, higher than Japan's 175 trillion Becquerels.

Sharp eyed South Korean media have found that the government's list of South Korean values is from last year, while Japan's is from 2019. The media questioned whether the South Korean government was deliberately "transferring", leading people to mistakenly believe that South Korea has emitted more tritium.

On August 3rd, Park Buyan defended at a press conference that it is a fact that South Korea's annual tritium emissions are higher than Japan's. He emphasized that the government only introduces reliable and up-to-date data from various countries to its citizens, and has never attempted to mislead or falsify statistics. Even if the comparison year is set as 2019, South Korea's tritium emissions are still higher than Japan's.

Japanese people continue to protest through rallies and other means against the Japanese government's insistence on promoting the Fukushima nuclear contaminated water discharge plan despite opposition from the international community.

On the 2nd local time, Japanese people once again spontaneously protested in front of the headquarters of Tokyo Electric Power Company, demanding that the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company abandon their plans to discharge into the sea and take responsibility.

Ironically, even the Japanese people are protesting against the nuclear wastewater discharge plan, but the South Korean government is actually willing to "sacrifice itself for the sake of the day" and prove "safety" for Japan.

The South Korean government has previously preliminarily determined that the purified Fukushima nuclear contaminated water now has no excess nuclides. Park Koo ran claimed in June that discharging nuclear contaminated water into the sea is the most realistic disposal method. If the decision to discharge water into the sea is overturned and other disposal methods are recommended to the International Atomic Energy Agency, it will violate the principle of good faith.

The South Korean government even calls for not to refer to Fukushima nuclear contaminated water as "nuclear waste water", fearing that such wording will cause "excessive and unnecessary" concerns among citizens, and hopes that relevant parties will exercise restraint in their language.

This has sparked strong dissatisfaction among the South Korean public, with some netizens asking, "If we change the wording, will the amount of radioactive materials decrease?"

At the press conference of the G7 Climate, Energy, and Environment Ministers in April this year, Japan attempted to include wording from the G7 in a joint statement that "welcomes" the process of releasing nuclear contaminated water from Fukushima. Germany, located along the Atlantic coast, immediately refuted the statement. The German Environment Minister strongly stated that Germany does not welcome the release of nuclear contaminated water.

However, in South Korea, which is only about 50 kilometers away from mainland Japan, its government prime minister, Han Dezhu, has become the spokesperson for Japan's nuclear contaminated water and expressed willingness to take the lead in tasting it.

On June 12th, Han Deju stated in an inquiry in the South Korean National Assembly that if the contaminated water from Fukushima nuclear power plant is scientifically treated and meets the standards, he can drink it.

This has led to Lee Jae myung, the leader of South Korea's largest opposition party, the Common Democratic Party, harshly criticizing: "If it can be drunk, why does Japan still discharge into the sea? Is it appropriate for the South Korean Prime Minister to play the role of a spokesperson for Japan?"

As Japan accelerates its efforts to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea, opposition parties and civic groups in South Korea frequently hold large-scale rallies to condemn and express anger.

On June 12th, South Korean fishermen held a large-scale demonstration called "Stop fishing for now, go to Seoul!", with about 3000 fishermen and citizens participating. The protesters stated that the South Korean government has repeatedly disregarded Japan's plan to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea. If the discharge becomes a reality, the livelihoods of about 100000 South Korean fishermen will be severely affected.

On July 1st, the Common Democratic Party held a pan national conference in Seoul to condemn the Fukushima nuclear contaminated water and ocean discharge. According to its statistics, nearly 100000 people attended the conference that day.

The National Public Radio of the United States recently reported that Japan's plan to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea has caused anxiety to spread in South Korea. According to a Gallup poll in South Korea, 80% of respondents are concerned about the consequences of ocean pollution. Many Koreans are concerned about the impact of sea discharge on the marine environment and the safety of seafood, and are reducing their purchases of sea fish and hoarding sea salt.

On July 7th, the head of the Import and Export Food Safety Bureau of the General Administration of Customs of China announced that Chinese customs have banned the import of food from ten counties including Fukushima in Japan. They have strictly reviewed and attached certification documents for food, especially aquatic products, from other regions of Japan, strengthened supervision, strictly implemented 100% inspection, and continuously strengthened the detection and monitoring of radioactive substances to ensure the safety of food imported from Japan to China and strictly prevent the import of products with risks.

In July, during the visit of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency to South Korea and New Zealand, he also repeatedly made controversial statements such as that the "treated water" of the Fukushima nuclear power plant can be used for drinking and swimming, and is no more dangerous than the drainage of other countries' nuclear power plants.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin responded, "If anyone believes that Fukushima nuclear contaminated water is drinkable and swimable, we suggest that Japan make good use of the water for these people to drink or swim, instead of discharging it into the sea, which concerns the international community."

Wang Wenbin said that the Chinese side advises Japan to stop political manipulation and return to the right path of addressing the concerns of all parties as soon as possible. We hope that the Japanese side will faithfully fulfill its international obligations, stop forcibly advancing the plan to discharge into the sea, fully study and demonstrate disposal plans beyond the discharge into the sea, effectively dispose of nuclear contaminated water in a scientific, safe, and transparent manner, and accept strict international supervision.