STORY: S. Koreans urge Japan to store nuke-contaminated water on land
DATELINE: June 25, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:07
LOCATION: Seoul
CATEGORY: POLITICS/ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the protest rally against Japan's planned discharge of radioactive wastewater in Seoul
2. SOUNDBITE (Korean): KWON MIN-KYUNG, Seoul citizen
3. various of radioactive wastewater stored in Japan

STORYLINE:

Thousands of South Koreans rallied in central Seoul Saturday to protest against Japan's irresponsible plan of discharging nuke-contaminated water into the sea.

They urged Tokyo to build more storage facilities on land for nuclear-contaminated water, holding signs that read "Protect Pacific Ocean" and "Storage on Land."

SOUNDBITE (Korean): KWON MIN-KYUNG, Seoul citizen
"The Japanese government certainly has a way of keeping radioactive wastewater on land, but to save money, simply to save money, (it decided to) release the wastewater into the sea. I think it is a criminal act that will badly destroy the marine ecosystem. The discharge of radioactive wastewater should never be allowed. The Japanese government should listen to the voices of people around the world and withdraw its decision to release them."

Despite grave concerns expressed by neighbors and the Pacific island countries, the Japanese government has decided to release radioactive wastewater from the crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean "in spring or summer."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Seoul.
(XHTV)