Japan Awaits Crucial UN Watchdog Report For The Release Of Radioactive Water From Fukushima Plant

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi will begin a 4-day visit to Japan on Tuesday. During the visit, he will call upon Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and deliver the results of its two-year safety review.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi hold a joint press conference after their talks at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo

Japan is awaiting a final report from the United Nations (UN) watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which is widely expected to approve a plan for a tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant to release radioactive water into the ocean over a period of the next 30 to 40 years. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi will begin a four-day visit to Japan on Tuesday. During the visit, he will call upon Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and deliver the results of its two-year safety review. As of now, Japan hasn't specified a date for the release of the water as it was waiting for IAEA's final review and official approval from the national nuclear regulatory body for Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) (9501.T), reported news agency Reuters.

The Japanese government formulated this plan in 2021, and since then it has been met with fierce resistance from some of its neighbours including China which has termed this plan as irresponsible, unpopular and a potential threat to food and ecological safety.

Beijing through its embassy in Japan repeated the protest against this decision on Tuesday while stating that IAEA's report cannot be a "pass" for the water release. It has called for the plan's suspension. Japan's foreign ministry has said that it has made multiple and repeated attempts to explain the science behind Tokyo's stance to Beijing officials, but all the attempts and offers have been ignored, reported Reuters.

China's foreign ministry lambasted the plan on Monday and said that the IAEA mustn't endorse this.

Apart from the foreign nations, local Japanese fishing communities also fear a risk of reputation and loss of business if this decision is acted upon.

Japan plans to release around 1.3 million tonnes of water used to cool the fuel rods of the Fukushima nuclear plant that were damaged earlier in 2011 by a massive earthquake and tsunami. The said water has been filtered in order to remove most radioactive elements except for tritium, an isotope of hydrogen that is difficult to separate from water. Prior to it being released in the Pacific Ocean, the treated water will be diluted to well below internationally approved levels of tritium, reported Reuters.

Nuclear power plants around the world often release wastewater that contains tritium above the concentration of TEPCO's treated water.