On the Release of Tritiumcontaminated
Water into the Ocean
10 June 2021

Dear Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga,
Dear Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshi Kajiyama
We, Anglican Japan-Korea Cooperation Committee, with the Justice andPeace Committee of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai, protest the decision of theJapanese cabinet on the release of tritium-contaminated water from theFukushima Daiichi (No.1) Nuclear Power Plant.
We support the 'Korea-Japan Church (NCCK-NCCJ) Joint Statement –Protest against the Decision of the Government Cabinet on the Release ofTritium-contaminated Water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power
Plant into the Ocean'.
To protect the "dignity of life" of all and the environment, we strongly
urge you to withdraw the decision to release tritium-contaminated waterfrom the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean while
listening to the voices of opposition in Japan and abroad, particularly withthose involved in the fishing industry.

The Rt. Rev. Haruhisa Iso,
Chairperson of the Japan-Korea Anglican Cooperation Committee (Japan)
The Rt. Rev. Dong-Shin Park,
Chairperson of the Korea-Japan Anglican Cooperation Committee (Korea)
The Rt Rev. Shouei Uehara,
Chairperson of the Justice and Peace Committee of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai

Joint statement of Korean-Japanese Church (NCCK-NCCJ)
April 29, 2021

Withdraw the plan to discharge Fukushimaradioactive contaminated water to the ocean.
” Life and death, blessing and curse are laid before you, choose
life for you and your descendants to live" (Deuteronomy 30:19).

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The Korean-Japanese Church, which has been striving to plant andnurture the seeds of justice, peace and life in the whole earth, has made it
clear that the plan for discharging radioactive water announced by theJapanese government is anapparent criminal act that slowly kills theentire human race. We firmly ask them to withdraw.
On April 13, 2021, the 10th year after the Fukushima nuclear accident
that alarmed all humankind, the Japanese government officially announced
a plan to discharge radioactive water from the Fukushima Nuclear PowerPlant. Despite deep concern and opposition within their own country andneighboring countries, and the world, they unilaterally decided to release
the sea.
TheJapanese

government

says

itwillrelease

theradioactively

contaminated water by diluting it to a harmless level to the human body.
However, the total amount of radioactive substances thrown into the sea
remains unchanged. In addition, the case of the multinuclear species
removal facility proposed by the Tokyo Electric Power Company as apurification facility has the problem of initial facility defects. Moreover,nuclides such as tritium and carbon-14 (C-14) cannot be purified. It has nochoice but to be released as it is. Tritium and radioactive substances suchas iodine 129, which have a half-life of 15.7 million years, remain in thetank storage water after purification of contaminated water at theFukushima No.1 nuclear power plant. Tokyo Electric Power's assertion thatradionuclides other than tritium are below the standard level is dishonest.
The Japanese government also excuses that other countries' nuclear power
plants are also releasing tritium, but this is a hazardous and irresponsible
treatment. It is inappropriate to compare the discharge of contaminatedwater from a nuclear power plant that caused a particularly fatal accident.
The toxic substances released in this way will spread worldwide via ocean
currents, accumulate in marine ecosystems, and eventually pass to humans
as they are, resulting in an unimaginable disaster for all humans, including
women and children. In the end,
the Japanese government's decision is nothing but to say that by pouring
toxic substances into the sea without any countermeasures, humanity andthe planet's ecosystem will be exposed to the dangers of contaminated,
polluted water unprotected.
The disposal of nuclear waste is not just a matter of Fukushima. In Japan,
scientists and citizens point out that Japan's largest spent nuclear fuelreprocessing plant in Rokkasho-mura （village）, Aomori Prefecture, is trying

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to release more than four times the amount of radioactive material into theocean and atmosphere every year since 2022. It happens because there isno way to dispose of the enormous amount of nuclear waste that
accumulates over time. According to the Rokkasho reprocessing plantdischarge plan, 100% of radionuclides, including tritium, are released into
the ocean and the atmosphere—an unacceptable behavior. Compared to
200 tons of tritium from the melted core of Units 1, 2, and 3 of theFukushima Nuclear Power Plant, the amount of tritium released annuallyfrom the Rokkasho reprocessing plant is expected to reach 800 tons. Inaddition, surveys around the world's reprocessing plants have revealed thatspills of plutonium and the like are inevitable. In the end, we cannot but
doubt whether the decision to release Fukushima contaminated water istheprocedure

reprocessingforplant,

therelease

whichofweighsradionuclides

800tons.

Theat

theRokkasho

Nuclear

Citizens'

Committee, where scientists and engineers participate, has suggested thatthe government could treat by adding a storage tank to the site planned for
expanding Units 7 and 8 or disposing of mortar solidification. We can neveradmit that they have decided to dispose of the sea, ignoring this.
The situation in Korea is no different. The Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant
is trying to expand the spent nuclear fuel dry storage facility (from now onreferred to as Maxtor) despite the residents' opposition when the spent
nuclear fuel storage tank is saturated. In addition, the Korean government
detected a large amount of tritium in the groundwater of the nuclear power
plant site. Instead of informing the cause or effect on the surrounding
environment, the KHNP has in a hurry hide the truth. Since the constructionof the Yeonggwang nuclear power plant has been constant problems due toinsolvency, the concrete of the actual containment building has voids. In
the Gyeongju radioactive waste treatment plant built amid numerous
conflicts, it discharges contaminated groundwater to the sea without
filtering. South Korean nuclear power plants are also not free from
responsibility for the release of radioactive materials.
The remaining time until actual discharge after completing treatment
facilities, such as dilution of contaminated water, is less than two years.
The following two years should not be a time of preparation for release, but
a time of determination to seek safety from nuclear and a just coexistencewith the ecosystem. Now we must choose life for our descendants and us
beyond greed and ignorance.
Therefore, we demand:3

- The Japanese government should immediately withdraw the Fukushima
contaminatedwater

marinedischarge

planandcooperatewith

neighboring countries and the international community to take an active
step in preparing fundamental and safe deadly water treatment
measures.
- The Korean Government and the Japanese government, and theinternational community should thoroughly investigate the current
status and actual condition of Fukushima radioactive contamination. As
well as the risk of food contamination and the impact on the humanbody when the contaminated water spills, and do its best to come up
with fundamental safety measures.
Finally, it appeals to citizens of the world.
- No country can be free from the responsibility of disposing of nuclear
waste as long as it operates a nuclear power plant. Do not try to adopt
the easy method at a low cost, but let us cooperate and solidarity withall our strength in making a world safe from nuclear for the sustainablecoexistence of humankind and the earth's ecosystem.
Both Korean and Japanese churches will do their best to create a safe
planet from nuclear and radioactive water in solidarity with the world'schurches and civil society worldwide.

Pastor Seongje Kim,
Secretary-General of the National Christian Council in Japan.
Pastor Shingo Naito,
Chairperson of the Peace Nuclear Issues
Pastor Hong-Jeong Lee,
Secretary-General of the National Council of Churches in Korea.
Pastor Hong-Taek Ahn,
Chairperson of the Life Culture Committee

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