Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority on Friday formally gave the green light to facilities for discharging treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, putting the country on track to start releasing the water into the sea around this summer.
The plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. received NRA's certificate showing the facilities have passed final inspections after the International Atomic Energy Agency earlier in the week assured the safety of Japan's water discharge plan with a report on its comprehensive assessment.
Although the government and TEPCO cleared the structural and safety conditions for beginning discharge procedures, local fishermen and some neighboring nations, including China, remain opposed to the discharge plan.
China on Friday suggested the country may expand its ban on food imports from Japan if the discharge plan goes ahead. Imports from 10 prefectures are currently suspended following the 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which was triggered by a massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami.
The government and TEPCO promised local fishermen in 2015 that they would not dispose of the treated water without gaining the "understanding" of concerned parties.
Wrapping up his four-day visit to Japan, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told a press conference Friday that public anxiety over radiation is only natural, adding that the IAEA's duty is to implement measures that avoid harm and provide clear, science-based explanations.
"When you see that the results are correct...and nobody is lying to you, then maybe trust will be reconstructed," he said.
On Tuesday, Grossi met with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and handed him the IAEA report, which said that Japan's water discharge plan is "consistent" with international safety standards and would have "a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment" if implemented.
After visiting Japan, Grossi is expected to share the IAEA's comprehensive findings when he travels to South Korea, the Cook Islands, and New Zealand.
As the Japanese government continues to make its final pitch to concerned parties, industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told a separate press conference, "It is important to repeatedly explain the water's safety and the measures for preventing reputational damage to people in the fisheries industry."
The Japanese government will provide 50 billion yen ($347 million) in aid to local fishermen, in addition to a previously announced 30 billion yen fund, to help them prevent or counter reputational damage and continue fishing.
As part of efforts to convince Japan's neighbors that the discharge plan is safe and based on science, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is arranging a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in Indonesia next week on the fringes of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations gatherings, according to diplomatic sources.
Kishida is also arranging to meet with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol next week on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Lithuania.
South Korea on Friday announced the results of its own analysis of Japan's discharge plan after its delegation of experts conducted on-site observations at the Fukushima Daiichi in May, affirming that the concentration levels of radioactive materials in treated water are consistent with international standards.
At the Fukushima plant, water is still being injected into its reactors to cool them down, and a mixture of groundwater and rain continues to flow into the reactor buildings, becoming contaminated when coming into direct contact with melted fuel or when it mixes with radioactive water already accumulated in the buildings.
Contaminated water undergoes treatment in stages through an advanced liquid processing system that removes almost all radioactive substances except tritium, before being stored in tanks that occupy a large area of the site.
TEPCO has stressed that the decommissioning of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant cannot be completed without disposing of the treated water that has accumulated at the site.
TEPCO and the government plan to gradually discharge the treated water into the sea, 1 kilometer from the power plant, via an underwater tunnel, after diluting it with seawater to one-40th of the concentration permitted under Japanese safety standards.
Related coverage:
Japan says China, South Korea released water with high levels of tritium
South Korea says Fukushima water discharge meets int'l standards
IAEA opens office at Fukushima nuclear plant before water release
