TOKYO — Japan has revised the timing of a planned release to the sea of treated but still radioactive wastewater at the Fukushima nuclear power plant to “around spring or summer,” after factoring in the progress of a release tunnel and the need to gain public support.
The government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, announced in April 2021 a plan to begin releasing the treated wastewater into the sea starting in spring 2023. They say more than 1 million tons of water stored at the plant are hampering its decommissioning and risk leaking in the event of a major earthquake or tsunami.
Under the current plan, the operator will transport the treated water through a pipeline to a coastal facility, where it will be diluted with seawater and sent through an undersea tunnel, stillunder construction, to an offshore outlet.
The plan has been opposed by fishermen, residents and Japan’s neighbors, including China and South Korea.