The government on Tuesday summoned Japanese Ambassador to Seoul Koichi Aiboshi to the Foreign Ministry and lodged a complaint over Tokyo’s decision to release radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. 

Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon is said to have issued the protest and is likely to have called on Tokyo to transparently disclose information on the entire process. 

It marked the first time for the government to summon Aiboshi who assumed his post earlier in February. 

In Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry strongly denounced Tokyo’s latest decision in a statement, calling it irresponsible and unilateral. 

The statement said the discharge will bring about serious damage to neighboring countries and made it clear that Japan must not release the water until an agreement is reached among nearby nations, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency.