WSJ: ‘How Could I Feel Safe?’ Japan’s Dumping of Radioactive Fukushima Water Stirs Fear, Anger
JEJU, South Korea—For years, Kim Young-goo ran a thriving seafood restaurant so close to the docks that the day’s catch could be hand-delivered. The freshness of the sea urchins, flounder and conches made it a must-stop place on this South Korean island. Famous singers, actors and lawmakers often popped in for a meal.
Now it’s a grilled-pork restaurant.
The abrupt change last year wasn’t due to poor reviews or bad luck. The sole motivator, Kim said, was neighboring Japan’s plans to dump slightly radioactive water into the sea—a move that got official approval on Tuesday by the international nuclear-safety authorities. The discharge from the Fukushima nuclear plant is set to begin this summer.
“I felt that I had no choice,” said Kim, whose business card still touts his eatery’s sashimi and steamed fish. “Ordinary people won’t want to eat seafood.”
Nuclear energy, and the inevitable need to dispose of radioactive waste, has long stoked doomsday fears and stirred health concerns about potential exposure. But the Fukushima waste disposal has attracted an unusually ferocious backlash in South Korea, parts of Japan and elsewhere across the region. The anxieties represent the latest clash on nuclear issues that pits public skepticism about safety versus the assurances of regulators.