Japan is considering beginning the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the sea between late August and early September, after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida returns from a trilateral summit with the United States and South Korea next week, government sources said Monday.
Kishida is expected to explain the water discharge plan to U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol when they meet at their three-way summit on Aug. 18 at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, near Washington, the sources said.
On the sidelines of the three-way summit, Kishida is scheduled to hold talks separately with Yoon. The South Korean leader has expressed a certain level of understanding of the water release, while the opposition camp in South Korea has been persistently critical.
Kishida will make the formal decision after his return to Japan apparently to show his consideration for Yoon’s position on the issue.
The government has been assessing the timing of the water release after the International Atomic Energy Agency said in its final report on the plan in early July that the prospective release aligns with global safety standards, despite concerns of local fishermen and neighboring countries.