Tokyo — The head of the UN nuclear agency will visit Japan next week to meet with Japanese leaders and oversee final preparations for releasing treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, officials said Friday.
The Japanese government hopes a visit by Rafael Mariano Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will add credibility to the discharge plan. It has been strongly opposed by local fishing groups and neighboring South Korea, China and some Pacific island nations over safety concerns.
Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Grossi would visit Japan on July 4-7. He is expected to meet Hayashi, Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and tour the Fukushima plant, which was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
“Japan attaches great importance to the efforts of the IAEA, which plays an important role in promoting nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. We look forward to further strengthening the relationship between Japan and the IAEA through this visit,” Hayashi said.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings, the plant operator, has completed building the equipment needed for the planned release, and Japanese regulators were completing their final inspections on Friday. If all goes well, TEPCO expects to receive a permit to begin discharge in about a week, according to the Nuclear Regulation Authority, although the start date is still uncertain.
Environmental activists protest outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul, South Korea, on Friday against the plan.
To ease foreign concerns, Grossi is expected to visit South Korea, New Zealand and the Cook Islands after his trip to Japan, during which the IAEA is expected to release its final report on the wastewater discharge plan.
Japan has sought support from the IAEA to gain credibility for the plan and ensure that safeguards are in line with international standards. The IAEA has sent several missions to Japan since early 2022.
All its interim evaluation reports have been positive and its final report is expected to yield similar results. The organization has said that it does not have the power to make any decisions, including stopping the discharge of wastewater to the Japanese government.
Hayashi said Kishida told cabinet ministers at a meeting on Friday about the water release that they should continue efforts to ensure safety and counter any negative rumors by issuing a full explanation.
Government and utility officials say wastewater stored in about 1,000 tanks at the plant must be removed to prevent accidental leaks and make room for the plant’s shutdown. He says the treated but still slightly radioactive water will be diluted to levels safer than international standards and slowly released into the ocean over decades, rendering it harmless to people and marine life.
Some scientists say that the effect of long-term, low-dose exposure to radionuclides is unknown and that the release should be delayed or contained in cement for use in building materials. Others say the release plan is safe but that more transparency is needed in the sampling and monitoring of releases.
The government says some falsified documents have been circulated, including one alleging that Japan pressured the IAEA to remove negative information from its final report.
“The IAEA is aware of the existence of forged documents,” Hayashi said. “The IAEA Comprehensive Final Report is a document prepared under the responsibility of the IAEA and the Japanese government is in no position to manipulate its contents,” he added. Undermining the independence and neutrality of the IAEA with misinformation.”
