IAEA Chief: Treated Wastewater Discharge at Fukushima Nuclear Plant is Safe

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by a massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, is seen from the nearby Ukedo fishing port in Namie town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by a massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, is seen from the nearby Ukedo fishing port in Namie town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
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IAEA Chief: Treated Wastewater Discharge at Fukushima Nuclear Plant is Safe

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by a massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, is seen from the nearby Ukedo fishing port in Namie town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by a massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, is seen from the nearby Ukedo fishing port in Namie town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

The head of the UN atomic agency told local Japanese representatives at a meeting in Fukushima on Wednesday that the ongoing discharge of treated radioactive wastewater at the ruined nuclear power plant has met safety standards and that any restrictions on products from the region are “not scientific.”

International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi joined local officials and representatives from fishing and business groups and reassured them that the discharges are being carried out “with no impact to the environment, water, fish and sediment."

Grossi, who arrived in Japan on Tuesday, visited Fukushima for the first time since the release of the treated water began in August, The Associated Press reported.

Grossi examined the discharge and sampling facility on Wednesday, escorted by Tomoaki Kobayakawa, president of the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings. He last visited the plant in July after issuing an IAEA review predicting only negligible impact from the discharges. An IAEA comprehensive report later concluded that the discharges meet international safety standards.

The 2011 disaster damaged the Fukushima plant’s power supply and reactor cooling functions, triggering meltdowns of three reactors and causing large amounts of radioactive wastewater to accumulate. After more than a decade of cleanup work, the plant began discharging the water after treating it and diluting it with large amounts of seawater on Aug. 24, starting a process that’s expected to take decades.

The discharges have been opposed by fishing groups and neighboring countries including China, which banned all imports of Japanese seafood immediately after the release began.

“There is no scientific reason to impose any restriction on products coming from us,” Grossi said at the meeting in Iwaki, south of the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

“This is very important in particular to be said in this forum here in Fukushima," he said. He noted a “political dimension to this activity since ... some neighboring countries are also manifesting concerns."

Despite earlier fears that the water discharge would further hurt Fukushima’s hard-hit fishing industry, it has not damaged its reputation domestically. China’s ban on Japanese seafood mostly hit scallop exporters in Hokkaido. Tokyo has earmarked a fund of more than 100 billion yen ($680 million) that includes compensation and other support, including measures to help find other export destinations.

The discharges are at the beginning of a long process, Grossi said, stressing the importance of “transparency, technical accuracy and wide open, honest dialogue and consultation.” He stressed that the IAEA has its own office and lab at the Fukushima plant to independently monitor the process.

Grossi said he met with residents not only to highlight the main points about the discharges but “to learn from you.” He said he would keep coming back to Fukushima and that he is open to hearing residents' concerns and needs.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government has reversed earlier plans for a nuclear phaseout and is accelerating the use of nuclear power in response to rising fuel costs related to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and pressure to meet decarbonization goals.

On Tuesday, Grossi expressed support for increasing Japan’s nuclear capacity as the country looks to it as a stable, clean source of power.

Grossi, at a meeting with Economy and Industry Minister Ken Saito, offered Japan technical assistance to improve the idled Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Japan’s northcentral region of Niigata, run by the Fukushima Daiichi operator, to address concerns about its past problems with safeguarding measures. It and the government are keen to restart it soon.

IAEA is sending a team of experts to the plant later this month to assist Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ effort to gain public trust.

The restart remains uncertain because it is subject to the host community’s consent. The Jan. 1 earthquake in the nearby Noto region rekindled safety concerns.



Erdogan, Trump Discuss Ukraine, Syria, Defense Issues, Türkiye Says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
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Erdogan, Trump Discuss Ukraine, Syria, Defense Issues, Türkiye Says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump and discussed efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and to restore stability in Syria, Erdogan's office said on Sunday.

He told Trump that Türkiye supports his "decisive and direct initiatives" to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and that Türkiye will continue to strive for a "just and lasting peace", the statement said.

Erdogan also spoke of "the importance of jointly contributing to the lifting of sanctions on Syria to restore stability, make the new administration functional and support normalization," the statement said, adding that this would enable Syrians to return to their homeland.

Türkiye also expects steps from the United States regarding the fight against terrorism, taking into account Türkiye’s interests, it said.

In the battle against ISIS in Syria, the United States is allied with a Syrian Kurdish militia that Türkiye regards as a terrorist group. Türkiye has sharply criticized this US stance as a betrayal of a NATO ally.

Erdogan said it was necessary to end CAATSA sanctions, finalize Ankara's F-16 procurement process and its re-participation in the F-35 program in order to develop defense industry cooperation between Türkiye and the United States.

Ankara's past purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems prompted US sanctions and Türkiye’s removal from the F-35 fighter jet program in 2019.