The International Atomic Energy Agency will send a task force to Japan late this month for a safety review of the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear complex into the sea, the Japanese government said Friday.
The planned visit by the IAEA team from Oct. 24 to 27 will be the first review by the U.N. nuclear watchdog since the water discharge began in late August, according to the Foreign Ministry.
It will come at a time when China remains strongly opposed to the discharge, citing health concerns.
The task force will consist of 11 experts from Argentina, Australia, Britain, Canada, China, France, South Korea, the Marshall Islands, Russia, the United States and Vietnam, all of whom will take part in the mission "from an independent standpoint," according to the ministry.
The ministry said that Japan will "continue to provide necessary information to the IAEA" and remains "committed to making efforts toward promoting better understanding among the international community" regarding the handling of the water.
The IAEA last dispatched a review team to Japan in late May until early June, before it submitted a final report to Japan's government in July concluding that the water release aligns with global safety standards and would have "a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment."
China has imposed a blanket ban on Japanese seafood imports while claiming that the discharge could harm the marine environment and human health.
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