TOKYO: Japanese and Chinese experts have held discussions on treated wastewater release from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, said Japan’s Foreign Ministry in a statement on Sunday.
These are the first such talks to be held since Tokyo started releasing the water into the ocean last year.
China and Japan have developed strong differences over the discharge of the wastewater which was used to cool down the nuclear reactors after the 2011 meltdown.
China has criticized the wastewater discharge and banned Japanese seafood imports; however, Japan insists the water has been safely treated.
Japanese Foreign Ministry in a statement said that a dialogue between Japanese and Chinese experts on the discharge of treated wastewater from Fukushima into the sea was held in Dalian, China to exchange views on technical issues.
The development comes after Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November and announced that science-based talks would be held between the two countries at the expert level.
Japan started gradually releasing some of the 1.34 million tonnes of wastewater that have accumulated since the disaster into the Pacific in August, triggering a diplomatic row with Russia and Chin.
China has blamed Japan for discharging the contaminated water into the ocean, but Japan insists the discharge is safe, a stance which is also supported by the UN nuclear watchdog.
Japanese Foreign Minister at Asia-Pacific summit in San Francisco in November asked China to make an objective decision regarding the safety of Japan’s seafood, which is its major industry.
Japan started releasing the treated wastewater as the nuclear facility was running out of area to construct more water storage facilities.
