The International Atomic Energy Agency task force "observed a robust commitment to align the regulatory plans related to the treated water discharge with IAEA safety standards" during the five-day visit to Japan.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s experts collected samples for testing and gathered information about Japan’s plan to discharge treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the sea.

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi FBR Systems have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with TerraPower of the USA to cooperate on the development of sodium-cooled fast reactors. TerraPower - founded by Bill Gates - is developing the Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor.

Shikoku Electric Power Company restarted unit 3 of its Ikata nuclear power plant in Japan's Ehime Prefecture yesterday. The reactor - one of the few to have been restarted since the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant - had been offline since December 2019 due to a periodic inspection and a subsequent court injunction.

The effects on the public and the environment of the discharge of treated water at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea will be minimal, Tokyo Electric Power Company said today. The company has released the results of a radiological impact assessment using methodology developed in accordance with internationally recognised methods.

Kansai Electric Power Company took unit 3 of its Mihama nuclear power plant in Japan's Fukui Prefecture offline on 23 October as it could not meet today's deadline set by regulators to implement antiterrorism measures. The reactor - which was restarted in June - is expected to remain offline for 13 months whilst the measures are completed.

Separate domestic and international initiatives to support the development and production of medical radioisotopes have been announced in Canada, Germany, Japan and the USA. These include a federal award of USD35 million to support the commercial production of molybdenum-99 in the USA; a new linear accelerator-based technique for production of actinium-225 in Japan; and a Canadian-German collaboration to explore the production of Ac-225.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority today formally accepted a report concluding unit 2 of Chugoku Electric Power Company's Shimane nuclear power plant meets the country's new safety standards. The utility must still obtain local consent before the 789 MWe boiling water reactor can be restarted.

A team of International Atomic Energy Agency officials are in Japan to officially launch a multi-year review of the planned release of treated water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. It is the IAEA's first mission as part of its review and monitoring assistance to support Japan before, during and after the discharge of treated water, which is expected to start in 2023.

Conditions at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant site have improved since a review in 2018, the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded following its fifth review of Japan's plans and activities to decommission the plant. The IAEA team of experts reviewed the current situation at the site and future plans in areas such as the removal of used fuel and the retrieval of fuel debris, radioactive waste, water and site management.

Tokyo Electric Power Company has announced plans for the construction of an undersea tunnel, about 1 kilometre in length, for the discharge of treated water currently stored at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The tunnel will release the tritiated water into an area of the ocean away from the plant but where no fishing rights are in place.

Details have been agreed of support that the International Atomic Energy Agency will give to Japan during the release of tritiated water from the Fukushima Daiichi site. IAEA's first official visit will be in September, ahead of the release of the water, which will be diluted to drinking-water quality.