Final preparations under way for Fukushima water release

This handout photo taken on August 22, 2023 and released by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) on Aug 23 shows sampling from the upper-steam storage during preparations for the initial discharge of treated water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma. - AFP

TOKYO (AFP): Final preparations to discharge waste water from the crippled Fukushima power plant in Japan were under way Wednesday (Aug 23), its operator said, a day before the scheduled release into the Pacific Ocean.

Tokyo had announced on Tuesday that the operation would begin on Thursday, prompting an angry response from China and partial import bans on Japanese seafood by Hong Kong and Macau.