 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Japan. (Photo: Kyodo/VNA) |
After a two-year review, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Japan's plans were consistent with global safety standards and that they would have a "negligible radiological impact to people and the environment".
"This is a very special night," IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told Prime Minister Fumio Kishida before handing him a thick blue folder containing the final report.
Grossi later told reporters at the Japan National Press Club, where he was met by a small group of protesters, that he would seek to allay lingering concerns and would station IAEA staff at the Fukushima plant to monitor the release.
"We have to recognise that such a thing has not happened before," he said, adding that Japan would have the final say on the release, which is due to span 30 to 40 years.
Japan's government maintains the process is safe as it has treated the water - enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools - used to cool the fuel rods of the Fukushima plant after it was damaged by the earthquake and resulting tsunami.