Japan calls on China to approach Fukushima water release in ‘scientific manner’

Japan called on China to approach the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in a “scientific manner” at a meeting held between Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, on Friday.

In a move that has caused alarm among neighboring countries and local fishermen, Japan is set to start releasing over one million metric tons of water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant this summer. China has emerged as the most vocal of those critics, saying the plan would endanger the environment and human lives.

At a meeting with Wang on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Indonesia, Hayashi said Japan was willing to communicate with China about the water discharge from a scientific perspective, according to the Japanese foreign ministry.