South Korean civic group to sue Japan over decision to release Fukushima water
Apr 22, 2021
Seoul [South Korea], April 22 (ANI/Sputnik): A South Korean civic environmental organization has filed an injunction against Japan's decision to release wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, Korean media reported on Thursday.
According to Yonhap, the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM) has lodged a lawsuit against the operator of the Fukushima plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co., with a district court in South Korea's southern port city of Busan.
"If the radioactive water is sent out to the ocean, it could reach the waters off Busan, threaten the safety of its citizens and damage their properties by polluting fish and seafood," KFEM was cited as saying by Yonhap.
The plaintiffs will consider taking additional legal steps if Japan releases the contaminated water even after the South Korean court issues an injunction, the news agency stated. Those would include a 10 million won (USD 8,960) penalty paid to each plaintiff per day until Tokyo stops violating the court decision, Yonhap added.
Meanwhile, some of the members of the NGO have reportedly gathered near the Japanese Consulate in Busan to rally against Tokyo's controversial decision.
On April 13, the Japanese government announced its plans to start releasing treated radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years. The decision has triggered a backlash from the fishing industry, environmental NGOs and the country's neighbors, including China and South Korea.
Tokyo reiterated that the treated water from Fukushima met international safety standards and the plan adhered to standard practices of nuclear power plants operations around the world. The UN nuclear watchdog said it would dispatch a multinational group of experts to Japan to verify the safety of the process. (ANI/Sputnik)
