Civic groups decry Japan's plan to discharge Fukushima nuke plant water

South Korean civic groups held a press conference Saturday to denounce Japan's recent decision to discharge contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Eight groups, including Global Econet, lambasted the plan to release the radioactive water as an "irresponsible" act and demanded the reversal of the decision, in a statement from Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul.

On Tuesday, Japan finalized a decision to start discharging the tritium-laced water into the sea in 2023 in what is expected to be a decades-long process, as all storage tanks at the Fukushima plant are expected to be full as early as the fall of 2022.

"The decision to discharge tainted water into the ocean is an irresponsible decision that did not consider the safety of neighboring countries," the groups said in the joint statement. "We call for the immediate retraction of the decision."

After the press conference, civic group members moved near to the Japanese Embassy in Seoul and read out a statement calling for Tokyo to reverse its decision.

A progressive group of university students also gathered in front of the embassy and said they would not turn a blind eye to Tokyo's move.

Some students scuffled with police as they tried to enter the embassy to deliver a statement urging Japan to stop the water discharge plan.

Some activists staged a protest near the embassy, holding a sign reading "If the Fukushima contaminated water is safe, you drink it." (Yonhap)