REPORT - THE LIMITS OF COOPERATION IN NORTHEAST ASIA: JAPAN-ROK-CHINA RELATIONS AFTER

In 2013, the operator of the Fukushima plant revealed that approximately 300 tons of highly contaminated water had leakedvi out of a storage tank; the Atomic Energy Society of Japan subsequently recommendedvii that the waste- The unilateral nature of Japan’s water must be treated to remove radioactive materials decision was a politically and released into the sea. [...] THE LIMITS OF COOPERATION IN NORTHEAST ASIA: JAPAN-ROK-CHINA RELATIONS AF TER THE FUKUSHIMA WASTEWATER RELEASE 9 ASIA SOCIETY POLICY INSTITUTE THE ASIA-PACIFIC REACTION TO THE WASTEWATER RELEASE The first wave of public anger was triggered by Japan’s April 2021 announcement of its plan to dispose of the treated wastewater by discharging it into the sea. [...] After the adoption of a landmark agreement between South Korea and Japan in 2015, Tokyo provided 1 billion yen to a foundation supporting the surviving comfort women, to resolve the dispute “finally and irreversibly.” Some groups have advocated for formal apologies in the form of direct compensation to the survivors rather than through the fund. [...] Before the collapse of the Six-Party Talks between the United States, China, South Korea, North Korea, Russia, and Japan, the North Korean threat was a key component of the military deterrence strategy of the Asia-Pacific and the three regional actors. [...] Consequently, South Korea is the most interested party in the three-party negotiations determined by the scale of national and was the first to propose revitalizing the ambitions and the compromises trilateral summit.