South Korea's opposition party to file UN complaint against Japan over nuclear waste

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – South Korea’s main opposition party announced on Monday its intention to lodge a formal grievance with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in the upcoming week, regarding Japan's proposed strategy to release water from the Fukushima site.

According to representative Woo Won-shik, who leads the Democratic Party (DP) committee that opposes Tokyo's proposal to discharge treated water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean, the complaint will be formally submitted on Thursday, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.

The DP asserts that the planned release, set to start as soon as late August, breaches several international agreements and lacks verified scientific safeguards.

The UNHRC assesses grievances originating from individuals, entities, or nations pertaining to instances of ongoing and severe human rights transgressions.

Alongside submitting the complaint, the DP intends to collect signatures from roughly 1.5 million citizens and deliver them to the office of the president.

Furthermore, DP members are making preparations for a visit to Japan by the end of this month to express their opposition to Tokyo's scheme, subsequent to two prior visits made in April and July.

Japan is expected to release treated nuclear waste from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant this month or early next month.

Japan's water discharge plan, announced in April 2021, faced significant criticism from China, South Korea, North Korea, Taiwan, and international organizations, including the UN.

The US supported the proposal, following years of discussions on dealing with over 1 million tons of water stored at the Fukushima nuclear complex since the 2011 disaster.