Japan defends neutrality of IAEA report on Fukushima

Planned release: An aerial view showing the storage tanks for treated water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. — Reuters

TOKYO: Japan’s industry minister visited the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant yesterday to see equipment that would be used in the planned release into the sea of treated radioactive water to ensure the safety of the controversial plan, while demonstrators, including many from South Korea, rallied against it.

The Japanese government defended the neutrality of the United Nations nuclear agency’s final report that concluded Japan’s water release plan met international safety standards, denying allegations that Japan pressured the International Atomic Energy Agency into publishing only favourable results.