Arrest of 16 Protesters Targeting the Japanese Embassy in South Korea

The police in South Korea arrested 16 individuals on Thursday for entering a building housing the Japanese embassy in Seoul, with some placed on a bus after they raised banners protesting Tokyo's discharge of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. The protest occurred on the day Japan began discharging the water, a step that has drawn renewed vehement criticism from across the region. Upon reaching the eighth floor of the building where the embassy is located, the protesters, most of whom were young, displayed banners reading "The sea is not Japan's trash can" and "Stop discharging contaminated water immediately." A policeman from the Jongno police station in the capital Seoul stated that 16 people were arrested for trespassing and attempted invasion of the embassy. Approximately 50 people gathered outside the embassy to protest Japan's discharge of the water into the ocean. South Korea has said it sees no scientific issues with this step but urged Japan to be transparent during this process, which is expected to last for decades.