Politics & Government

Kishida Received IAEA Report on Fukushima Water Discharge

Pool via Reuters
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, shakes hand with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, before presenting IAEA’s comprehensive report on Fukushima Treated Water Release at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:07 JST, July 4, 2023 (updated at 16:50 JST)

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi in Tokyo on Tuesday afternoon and received a report that includes the nuclear watchdog’s assessment of the safety of the planned ocean discharge of treated water from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant.

Kishida will decide on the timing of the release based on the agency’s comprehensive report.

According to sources, the government is aiming to start the discharge “around summer.”

Under TEPCO’s plan, treated water containing tritium will be diluted with seawater until the concentration is less than one-fortieth of the regulatory standard of 60,000 becquerels per liter. The treated water will then be released into the ocean about a kilometer from the coast via an underground tunnel.

The IAEA has released six earlier reports in which it described the discharge method and facilities as “appropriate.” It is expected to maintain the same view in the comprehensive report

The government hopes to reassure the international community about the safety of the release based on the IAEA’s assessment.