Public outcry amid IAEA chief's visit

Calls renewed to end Fukushima water release; nuclear watchdog urged to act

More than six months after Japan started releasing nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima plant into the sea, its people again voiced their opposition to the discharge during a three-day visit to the country by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the UN nuclear watchdog, arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday. He met with locals in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture on Wednesday and visited the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, his first since July. Notably, it was his first visit following the commencement of the discharge.

While the Japanese government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company have asserted the safety and necessity of the discharge, neighboring nations and local stakeholders have raised concerns over potential environmental effects.