Japan Minister, IAEA Head Discuss Fukushima N-Plant Water

Jiji Press

15:10 JST, May 19, 2022

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—Japanese industry minister Koichi Hagiuda and visiting International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi on Wednesday discussed the planned release of treated water from the disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the ocean.

They exchanged opinions about the IAEA’s work to verify the safety of the release of the water, which still contains radioactive tritium, from the plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. , the site of the March 2011 triple reactor meltdown.

“The verification, which is carried out based on scientific evidence, is very important to win understanding at home and abroad” for the planned water release into the ocean, Hagiuda said in the meeting.

He said that the Japanese government will contribute €1 million to an IAEA program to train female researchers, as part of its cooperation in fostering human resources in the nuclear industry.

Grossi said that cooperation with Japan is moving forward, suggesting that the IAEA’s verification will contribute to increasing international understanding of the safety of the water release.

Grossi will visit the nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Thursday.