{"id":2202053,"date":"2023-08-23T08:00:35","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T23:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2202053"},"modified":"2023-08-22T17:58:55","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T08:58:55","slug":"japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan to release Fukushima water; Seoul cautious amid domestic criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Japanese government <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/japan-release-fukushima-water-into-ocean-starting-aug-24-2023-08-22\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">announced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> its decision on Tuesday to commence the release of over 1 million metric tonnes of treated radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant on Aug. 24. This move, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iaea.org\/newscenter\/pressreleases\/iaea-finds-japans-plans-to-release-treated-water-into-the-sea-at-fukushima-consistent-with-international-safety-standards\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">greenlit<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in July, has been met with criticism from various quarters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination Park Ku-yeon <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.opm.go.kr\/opm\/news\/press-release.do?mode=view&amp;articleNo=154605\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">conveyed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in a daily briefing on Tuesday that Seoul sees no scientific or technical issues with Japan\u2019s plan. Park emphasized that Seoul neither endorses nor rejects the plan and further noted that the government would ask for an immediate halt to the discharge if the concentration of radioactive material in the water surpasses established standards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Why It Matters<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Japanese government\u2019s decision to release over 1 million metric tonnes of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant and the Yoon administration\u2019s response have elicited sharp criticism from South Korea\u2019s main opposition Democratic Party (DP). DP spokesperson Kang Seon-woo <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/theminjoo.kr\/main\/sub\/news\/view.php?brd=11&amp;post=1197750\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">condemned<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Japan\u2019s decision and the Yoon administration\u2019s perceived passive stance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gallup.co.kr\/gallupdb\/reportContent.asp?seqNo=1412\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recent polls<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> indicate President Yoon Suk-yeol\u2019s approval rating hovering in the early to mid-30s and a disapproval rating in the mid to late 50s, with respondents pointing to Yoon\u2019s diplomatic endeavors and his government\u2019s stance on the Fukushima water release as significant factors in these ratings. Moreover, a June Gallup Korea <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gallup.co.kr\/gallupdb\/reportContent.asp?seqNo=1402\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">poll<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> revealed that 78% of South Koreans have concerns about potential ocean and seafood contamination.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the ROK government having to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.yna.co.kr\/view\/AEN20230818004300315?section=national\/politics\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">refute<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> news reports that it had approached Tokyo to release its treated radioactive water \u201cas early as possible\u201d to maintain distance from April\u2019s parliamentary elections, this issue will likely cause Yoon and the ruling People Power Party to struggle to maintain public support.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-tags\"><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/domestic-politics\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Domestic Politics<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/inter-korean-foreign-relations\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Inter-Korean &amp; Foreign Relations<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Japanese government announced its decision on Tuesday to commence the release of over 1 million metric tonnes of treated radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant on Aug. 24. This move, greenlit by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in July, has been met with criticism from various quarters. First deputy chief [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10407,"featured_media":2202054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[27,28],"class_list":["post-2202053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-briefings","tag-domestic-politics","tag-inter-korean-foreign-relations"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Japan to release Fukushima water; Seoul cautious amid domestic criticism - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Japan to release Fukushima water; Seoul cautious amid domestic criticism - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Japanese government announced its decision on Tuesday to commence the release of over 1 million metric tonnes of treated radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant on Aug. 24. This move, greenlit by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in July, has been met with criticism from various quarters. First deputy chief [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-22T23:00:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-22T08:58:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/eb-7.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"548\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"johnleenknews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@southkoreapro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@southkoreapro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"KOREA PRO\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"johnleenknews\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b9766dba611638edc06a6e0b7078714d\"},\"headline\":\"Japan to release Fukushima water; Seoul cautious amid domestic criticism\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-22T23:00:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-22T08:58:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism\/\"},\"wordCount\":306,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/eb-7.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Domestic Politics\",\"Inter-Korean &amp; Foreign Relations\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Briefings\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism\/\",\"name\":\"Japan to release Fukushima water; Seoul cautious amid domestic criticism - KOREA PRO\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/eb-7.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-22T23:00:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-22T08:58:55+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/eb-7.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/eb-7.png\",\"width\":1870,\"height\":1000},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/japan-to-release-fukushima-water-seoul-cautious-amid-domestic-criticism\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Japan to release Fukushima water; Seoul cautious amid domestic criticism\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/\",\"name\":\"KOREA PRO\",\"description\":\"Be smart about South Korea. 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