A general view shows storage tanks for contaminated water at the Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in Okuma of Fukushima prefecture, on Jan 20, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

TOKYO — The head of the Fukushima fisheries federation has again expressed opposition to the plan to release radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the sea, local media reported on Wednesday.

During a meeting on Tuesday with the plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Tetsu Nozaki said the government and TEPCO had told the prefectural fisheries federation eight years ago that they would not dispose of the wastewater without gaining the understanding of the parties involved, the public broadcaster NHK reported.

TEPCO completed the construction of a system to release nuclear-contaminated water from the facility into the sea on Monday

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Nozaki said he takes it seriously that the government and TEPCO have repeatedly provided explanations about the discharge plan, but the fishers have not endorsed it, according to NHK.

TEPCO completed the construction of a system to release nuclear-contaminated water from the facility into the sea on Monday. The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) is due to start inspecting the system from Wednesday, said the report.

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If the NRA gives the greenlight, the system will be ready for the discharge operation, which TEPCO plans to begin around this summer, it added.