Opposition lawmakers visit Japan to assess Fukushima water release plan

A group of lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea holds a press conference at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, April 6. Courtesy of Democratic Party of Korea

A group of lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) left for Japan on Thursday for a three-day trip to assess the circumstances surrounding Tokyo's plan to release radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.

The lawmakers, including Reps. Wi Seong-gon and Yang Yi-wonyoung, plan to hold a meeting with civic groups and safety experts in Tokyo and visit the headquarters of the Fukushima plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power, to deliver a request for information related to the matter on Thursday.

On Friday, they plan to visit the Fukushima region to assess the contamination level and meet with municipal lawmakers and power plant workers in the area.

The DPK has raised suspicions President Yoon Suk Yeol could have talked about resuming seafood imports from the region when he held a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo last month, after Japanese news reports said the issue came up during the talks.

Yoon's office has rejected such suspicions, saying Fukushima seafood will not come into Korea.

On Wednesday, the DPK's taskforce on the matter visited the Japanese Embassy in Seoul and called for making the safety of the people of Korea and Japan the top priority in the water release plan. (Yonhap)