Japan on Friday said they started the release of the fifth batch of treated radioactive water into the oceans from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. will discharge 7,800 tons of water through May 7 in the first discharge of the current fiscal year, according to the Tokyo-based Kyodo News Agency.
Ahead of releasing the water, it said, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company ensured the radioactivity levels meet the standards set by itself and the government.
Tokyo's move to begin the release of treated radioactive water into the oceans last August had triggered criticism, with China imposing a blanket ban on imports of seafood from Japan.
The plant has more than 1 million tons of treated wastewater to release in a 30-year process.
The Fukushima plant was forced to shut down after facing the largest nuclear accident since 1986 in Chernobyl following an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
