Japan begins discharging radioactive water from Fukushima nuclear plant

Japan has begun discharging treated cooling water from the ruins of the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, the operator Tepco has said.

Despite opposition from local fishermen, environmentalists and the Chinese government, Tepco dispatched the first batch of treated water into the Pacific Ocean through a special 1-kilometre-long tunnel.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered core meltdowns in 2011 as a result of an earthquake and tsunami.

Since then the reactors, though shut down, have had to be cooled with water stored in tanks. But now space is running out according to Tepco.

Disposing of the 1.3 million tonnes of water is expected to take 30 years.