On the 21st, TEPCO unveiled facilities for discharging contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to foreign reporters. Appearance of the prepared dilution and discharge facilities. yunhap news
While Japan adheres to the position of ‘discharging contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant’ in August, domestic political schedules such as local elections in Fukushima prefecture are affecting the release time. It is expected that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will set the final release date in consideration of the schedule for the Korea-US-Japan summit to be held next month while concentrating all his efforts on persuading local fishermen who oppose the discharge of the contaminated water.
According to the Korean government and foreign media on the 23rd, as the Korea-US-Japan summit is scheduled to be held in the US on the 18th of next month, the timing of Japan’s discharge of contaminated water is taking shape. After the announcement of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s final report on the 4th, Prime Minister Kishida, who announced his intention to ‘release in August’, is expected to initiate the release with the Korea-US-Japan summit as an opportunity.
Although the number of cases was discussed regarding the timing of the discharge of contaminated water, it is analyzed that Japan is focusing on ‘discharging this summer’. Some time is spent in public opinion campaigns to minimize opposition from neighboring countries such as Korea, Pacific Island Countries, and China, but most of all, it is the general opinion that domestic politics, such as domestic election schedules, have the greatest influence.
From the middle of next month, local elections will be held in neighboring Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, including Fukushima Prefecture. On the 17th of next month, there will be an Iwate prefectural governor election, and Miyagi and Fukushima prefectural assembly elections will be held in October and November, respectively.
According to the Japanese media, there are observations that Prime Minister Kishida, who is experiencing a recent decline in approval ratings, will avoid as much as possible the plan to force the discharge of contaminated water ahead of local elections. This is because fishermen in nearby areas are keenly aware of the discharge of contaminated water after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident due to the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, and their concerns about a sharp decline in seafood consumption have not yet been resolved.
An ASEAN-related summit will be held in Indonesia in early September, and the G20 summit will be held in India in mid-September. From the standpoint of Prime Minister Kishida, who has a series of diplomatic schedules ahead, it is highly likely that the end of August or early September will be the ‘right time’ to discharge contaminated water.
In the midst of this, Korea-Japan director-general-level working-level consultations on contaminated water will be held in Japan starting on the 24th at the earliest. At the working-level meeting at the director-general level, it was reported that Yoon Hyun-soo, head of the Climate, Environmental Sciences and Diplomacy Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Atsushi Kaifu, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Science Department, will serve as the chief representatives of the South Korean side.
At the working-level meeting, attention is focused on the fact that the four technical recommendations mentioned in the independent verification report released by the South Korean side on the 7th and the three issues that President Yoon Seok-yeol requested from Prime Minister Kishida will come to the table.
At the Korea-Japan summit held on the 12th on the occasion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, President Yoon asked Prime Minister Kishida for three major issues, including follow-up measures in the process of checking the discharge of contaminated water. Participation of Korean experts in discharge inspection and monitoring, real-time sharing of monitoring information, immediate discontinuation of discharge when radioactive material concentration exceeds the standard, and sharing with the Korean side.
However, at an online briefing on contaminated water held by the Japanese Embassy in Korea on the 18th, the Japanese side drew the line that it is the IAEA’s right to involve Korean experts in the discharge monitoring process. Real-time sharing of monitoring information and suspension of discharge when the standard is exceeded have already been accepted by TEPCO and the Japan Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRA), raising questions about the effectiveness of our request.
However, both the Japanese government and the Korean government said that the IAEA only made a judgment that ‘safety standards were met’ for the process of discharging contaminated water, and that the decision was not made to discharge the contaminated water. This means that whether or not the contaminated water is discharged ultimately depends on the decision of the Japanese government. An official from the Nuclear Society said in a phone call with CBS Nocut News, “The IAEA is not an organization that has the authority to decide on discharge after all.”
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2023-07-23 20:05:00
