TOKYO - Japan on Tuesday afternoon restarted the ocean discharge of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, following the temporary suspension of discharge operation prompted by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake that struck northeastern Japan Monday night.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said that the discharge of the nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the ocean resumed at around 2:30 pm local time.

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TEPCO began the 17th release of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on Dec 4. The discharge operation is scheduled to run through Dec 22 and will release an estimated 7,800 tons of wastewater, according to TEPCO.