Japan begins releasing 3rd batch of treated radioactive water from Fukushima plant

Japan on Thursday began releasing a third batch of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

The third stage of the release will continue until Nov. 20, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

The third batch began despite opposition from China and Russia as the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said it plans to pump about 460 tons of treated water per day about one kilometer (0.62 miles) off the coast via an underwater tunnel, according to the report.

The fourth stage will start next March to release a total of about 31,200 tons of the water.

During the previous release, about 460 tons of treated water was released daily for 18 days.

Japan began releasing treated radioactive wastewater from the plant this August, triggering a strong reaction from China and opposition parties in South Korea and the Solomon Islands.

The plant has more than a million tons of treated wastewater to release over the course of a 30-year process.

Following an earthquake and tsunami in 2011, the Fukushima plant faced the largest nuclear accident since 1986 in Chernobyl, forcing it to shut down.