Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in Tokyo in May 2022. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to meet with the International Atomic Energy Agency head on July 4 regarding the release of treated radioactive water from Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the ocean.

Kishida plans to decide on the timing for releasing the water after examining a comprehensive report about the safety of the treated water, which he will receive from IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi, government sources said.

Opposition remains strong among local fishermen and some countries in the region, such as China and South Korea.

The government hopes to gain understanding based on the IAEA report.

“We have no other choice but to explain scientifically that treated water is safe,” said a senior official of the prime minister’s office.

The report is expected to be made public when it is handed to Kishida.

The government requested a survey from the IAEA to demonstrate that the safety of the treated water meets international standards.

An IAEA delegation inspected the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant from late May to early June.

Grossi is also considering visiting Fukushima Prefecture during the visit.

All the facilities required for releasing the water, including an undersea tunnel, were completed on June 26.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority will conduct inspections to confirm their soundness.

Under the plan, radioactive water processed by TEPCO’s Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS)--which removes radioactive substances other than tritium, an isotope that is difficult to separate from water--will be diluted with seawater.

After tritium levels are lowered to one-40th of the government regulatory standard, or one-seventh of the World Health Organization’s standard for drinking water, the water will be discharged into the sea through the undersea tunnel.

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