Tag: Fukushima

It will be interesting to see what Korea’s inspection team says once they complete their inspection:

In this file photo, officials at Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, speak to journalists at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on Feb. 2, 2023. (Yonhap)

A team of South Korean experts will focus on examining storage tanks of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant and its treatment system, the team’s chief said Monday, amid lingering concerns about the safety of the water.

Nuclear Safety and Security Commission Chairperson Yoo Guk-hee, who heads the 21-member inspection team, made the remarks before his meeting with Japanese officials from Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the wrecked power plant, at Tokyo’s foreign ministry.

He added that the experts will check with their “own eyes” the K4 tanks, designed to store and conduct measurements of radioactive substance, and “request required data” from the Japanese authorities.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here is what Japanese Prime Minister Kishida has offered President Yoon during their bilateral summit:

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took steps Sunday to reciprocate President Yoon Suk Yeol’s commitment to improving bilateral ties, as he accepted a South Korean team’s inspection of the planned release of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant and acknowledged the past pain of Koreans under Japanese colonial rule.

The water release and Japan’s attitude about its 1910-45 colonial occupation were the main points that were closely watched as Yoon and Kishida held their second summit in less than two months to add momentum to the recent warming of bilateral ties.

The thaw began in March after the Yoon administration decided to compensate Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labor without the involvement of Japanese firms, a decision Kishida lauded as “courageous.”

Kishida returned the goodwill Sunday by announcing he will accept a visit by a team of South Korean experts to inspect the planned release of the contaminated water.

Amid South Korean calls for a sincere apology, he also acknowledged the pain of forced labor victims.

“My heart aches over the fact that many people had an extremely painful and sad experience in harsh conditions at the time,” he said, before adding he was speaking in a personal capacity.

Critics said the remark still falls short of a direct apology.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but they can add this apology to this ever growing list of apologies that the Korean left is still not happy with.

Good luck trying to convince people this is a good idea:

Japan has still not come to a consensus on what to do with a million tons of nuclear water six years after their primary nuclear power plant in Fukushima was rocked by a tsunami.

The water stored in 900 large, dense, packed tanks on site could spill if another major natural disaster should strike, The Japan Times reported.

The government has been urged by experts to gradually release the water to the Pacific Ocean, as all the radioactive elements of the water except tritium—which has been said to be safe in small amounts—have been removed through treatment. But if the tank breaks, the contents may not be able to be controlled.

Local fishermen are extremely hesitant to this solution because many consumers are still uncertain to eat fish caught off Fukushima, despite tests that say the fish is safe to eat.

“People would shun Fukushima fish again as soon as the water is released,” Fumio Haga, a drag-net fisherman, told The Japan Times.  (……..)

Currently, the amount of radioactive water at Fukushima is still growing by 150 tons a day.  [Newsweek]

You can read more at the link.