The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog is set to give its backing to Japan’s plan to release millions of tonnes of treated radioactive water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi began a four-day visit to Japan on Tuesday, where he is due to deliver the final outcome of the agency’s two year review into the plan’s safety.
The proposal for the release of the more than 1.33 million cubic metres of water that has accumulated on the site since the 2011 nuclear disaster, has encountered fierce resistance from Japan’s neighbours and countries in the Pacific region.
Fishing industry bodies and civil society groups in Japan have also expressed concern.
“We will continue to explain the safety of the plan to release the treated water into the ocean to the international community, based on scientific evidence and with transparency,” Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a joint briefing with Grossi.
Grossi is due to visit the Fukushima plant with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday and will travel to South Korea, New Zealand and the Cook Islands after he leaves Japan.
Original from www.aljazeera.com