Opposition lawmakers urge Japan to drop Fukushima water release plan

South Korean opposition lawmakers held a protest rally in Tokyo on Monday, urging the Japanese government to withdraw its plan to release radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.

Joined by Japanese civic activists and South Korean fishermen, a team of 10 lawmakers held the rally in front of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s official residence around noon, raising signs reading “Don’t throw contaminated radioactive water into the ocean,” or “Don’t forget Fukushima.”

The lawmakers, eight from the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and two independents, flew to Japan in the morning for a three-day trip.

Rep. Ju Cheol-hyeon denounced the release plan as “an act against the world and humanity that would contaminate the world’s oceans.”

He claimed releasing contaminated water into the sea is a clear violation of international law, such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. opted for release into the ocean, which is the least costly financially, although there are other ways to deal with contaminated water,” Ju said, adding the recent security report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) cannot vindicate the water release.

The lawmakers later visited Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority and conveyed a letter urging the government to take back the Fukushima water release plan. They also staged a sit-in near the National Diet of Japan.

Originally, a total of 11 lawmakers were set to travel to Japan, but Rep. An Min-suk of the DP was unable to participate due to a wrist injury.

During the trip, the lawmakers also plan to make a protest visit to the Japan office of the IAEA and make a joint statement with a group of Japanese lawmakers opposed to the release.

They will wind up the trip with a press conference with international media outlets and a protest march Wednesday.

The lawmakers are Reps. Kim Seung-nam, Park Beom-kye, Yangyi Won-young, Wi Seong-gon, Yoo Jung-ju, Yoon Jae-kab, Lee Yong-bin and Ju Chul-hyun from the main opposition party, and independents Yang Jung-suk and Youn Mee-hyang.

“The International Atomic Energy Agency has announced an empty report with no scientific evidence to back the ocean release of the contaminated waters from Japan’s nuclear power plant,” the lawmakers said at Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport before their departure.

“We will do our best to prevent the disposal of contaminated nuclear water from the Fukushima plant through international cooperation and then return,” they said.