Filipinos protest outside Japanese embassy in Manila against nuke wastewater dumping

MANILA, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of Filipino protesters on Saturday gathered outside the Japanese embassy in capital Manila to condemn Japan's release of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean.

The protest came a few days after Japan started dumping the nuke wastewater on Thursday. The protesters, some clad in toxic gas masks, carried placards with English and Japanese slogans opposing Japan's action.

"We can't allow other countries to treat our seas and abundant marine biodiversity as their sewer," said the small fishers national federation PAMALAKAYA and a few environment groups in a joint statement.

"It is simply unacceptable to dump wastewater into the ocean without the consent of people in countries affected by the discharge," the protesters said.

"As far as the Filipino fishers and champions of the environment are concerned, we are opposed to this move," they said, condemning the discharge as an "ill-conceived action."

Ronnel Arambulo, PAMALAKAYA national vice chair, vowed to continue to reach out to the international community and garner support to pressure Japan to suspend its wastewater discharge and seek alternative ways.