Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is to visit on Sunday the facility that will discharge treated cooling water from the ruins of the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, according to media reports.
In July, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved the Japanese government's plan to release massive amounts of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean via a one-kilometre tunnel built especially for this purpose.
Kishida is expected to meet with Cabinet ministers early next week to set a date when the discharge of the cooling waters will begin, the Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun reported on Friday, quoting government sources. Earlier media reported that he would set the timeline on Sunday.
In March 2011, a tsunami triggered by a huge earthquake slammed into the Japanese coast, leading to thousands of deaths and a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Even 12 years on, water is needed to cool the destroyed reactors.
Knowing that the storage capacity was finite, plans were made to filter the contaminated water, then dilute it and discharge it, which according to the reports, is expected to begin towards the end of this month.
The dumping process of the massive quantities of water is estimated to take about 30 years.
According to the IAEA, there is no danger to humans or the environment. Japan's nuclear regulatory authority had also recently given the green light.
However, opposition has been fierce from local fishermen who fear a wary public will not want to consume their catches.
China also rejected the IAEA report findings and tightened import controls on Japanese food.
Anonymous, an international hacker collective, has also launched an online protest against the imminent disposal of these waters.
Anonymous, an international hacker collective, has launched cyberattacks on organizations linked to Japan's plan to discharge Fukushima's treated cooling water into the sea.
Networks of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency and other organizations were flooded with data, the Kyodo news agency reported on Friday, citing an IT security firm in Japan.
A member of Anonymous reportedly accused Japan's government of not involving citizens in the decision-making process.
"We must put an end to the senseless act of turning the sea into a dumping ground for economic reasons," the Anonymous member said.
