More than 3 years have passed since the commencement of the discharge of the ALPS treated water into the sea

 
    More than three years have passed since the commencement of the discharge of the ALPS treated water into the sea on 24th August 2023. We would like to reiterate its safety as described below.
 
1. Safety of the plan to discharge the ALPS treated water into the sea
    The first point we would like to state is that “the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea is safe”. We still see some articles describing the water that is discharged into the sea as “nuclear-contaminated water". However, the water that is discharged into the sea is ALPS treated water.  Radioactive materials, other than tritium, are purified until they meet safety standards, through treatment by a system called the ‘ALPS’ (Advanced Liquid Processing System), and this ALPS treated water is discharged after being greatly diluted with seawater so that the tritium contained fully satisfies the safety standards.  Therefore, the expression “nuclear-contaminated water” is inappropriate, and we would like to reiterate that ALPS treated water is safe and it does not have any impact on people and the environment. The IAEA, which is the international authority in the field of nuclear energy, also uses the term ‘ALPS treated water’.
    In the Radiological Environmental Impact Assessment (REIA) for the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) has conducted a thorough evaluation on the impact of the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea on people and the environment, in accordance with international standards and guidelines. The results show that it is sufficiently within the safety standards of Japan, which are established in accordance with international guidelines. Following that, the IAEA released a comprehensive report in July 2023. The report concluded that the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea is in line with relevant international safety standards and that the impact on people and the environment is negligible.
 
2. The safety of the discharge of the ALPS treated water into the sea in practice
    The second point we would like to state is that the IAEA affirmed the safety of the discharge itself of ALPS treated water into the sea, which has been conducted since August 2023. The IAEA report of the review mission on the safety aspects of handling the ALPS treated water, which was published in April 2026, did not identify anything that is inconsistent with the requirements in the relevant international safety standards , therefore, the IAEA can　 reaffirm the fundamental conclusions of its safety review as outlined in the July 2023 Comprehensive Report. In addition, Ms. Karine Herviou, Deputy Director General of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security of the International Atomic Energy Agency visited Japan in February 2026 and reaffirmed that the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea is being carried out safely and as planned, in full accordance with international standards. Furthermore,　H.E. Dr. Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the IAEA, visited TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and presided over the implementation of the additional measures under the IAEA framework in the vicinity of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Experts from laboratories from China also participated in the additional measures, and the Director General Grossi himself conducted seawater sampling. At a press conference later in his visit to Japan, he stated that the safety of the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea has been verified in multiple layers, and that the transparency is unprecedentedly high.
    Moreover, whilst the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, the Japan Nuclear Regulation Authority, the Fisheries Agency of Japan, Fukushima Prefecture and TEPCO, together with the involvement of the IAEA and third-country laboratories, including surrounding countries such as China and South Korea, have all been conducting multilayered and continuous monitoring, no abnormalities have been found during these monitoring activities, and the concentration of radioactive materials, including tritium, in the discharged water has been far below regulatory standards. All of these monitoring results have been publicly announced.
    In addition, regarding radioactive materials in aquatic products, all of the tritium analysis results conducted by Japan have been well-below the detection limit, except for six samples in which approximately 1 Bq/kg of tritium was detected. The detected value for the six samples is 1/10,000th of the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water standard, which is well within the limit, and it has a minimal impact on people and the environment. And all of the radioactive cesium analysis results were also below the Japanese standards for food (100 Bq/kg).
    It has been proven more clearly and scientifically that the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea is safe and, furthermore, that Japanese agricultural, forestry and aquatic products and foods are safe. And it has been confirmed that after the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea, the safety of Japanese foods etc. has been assured in accordance with inspections conducted by the Hong Kong Government and the Macao Government. As a matter of course, no cases have been found where results of inspections exceeded the standards.
 
3．Consistency between the results of Additional Measures on monitoring and the conclusions of the IAEA Comprehensive Report
    Since October 2024, as part of the additional measures on monitoring that have been conducted ten times under the framework of the IAEA, a series of collecting samples and others have been analysed by laboratories of participating countries, including China. In April 2026, the IAEA published a report on the analytical results of　ALPS treated water prior to dilution with seawater collected in June 2025, as part of the additional measures. The IAEA concluded that the results reported by the participating laboratories are consistent with the IAEA Comprehensive Report on the Safety Review of the ALPS-Treated Water, that was released in July 2023, stating that the IAEA concluded that the discharge as planned would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment. For details, please refer to the website below:
https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/2026-04/additional-measures-for-indepemdent-sampling-and-analysis-related-to-discharges-of-alps-treated-water-additional-measures-june-2025-source-monitoing.pdf
    The Chinese Government has announced that results from the conducted analysis showed no abnormality.
    In response to this, the Chinese Government issued a public announcement that the import of aquatic products from part of Japan (37 prefectures) will resume in June 2025. The Government of Japan will continue to urge China to facilitate exports, including by promptly re-registering Japan-side export-related facilities, and will strongly call for the lifting of the remaining import restrictions on agricultural and aquatic products from 10 prefectures.
 
4. The standpoint of the Japanese Government towards the import restriction measures imposed by the Hong Kong Government and the Macao Government
    Nevertheless, the Hong Kong Government and the Macao Government has imposed and maintained import restriction measures, which are not based on scientific evidence, against Japanese food products etc., including aquatic products, following the discharge of the ALPS treated water into the sea in 2023. To date, the Hong Kong Government continues to prohibit the import of aquatic products originating from the 10 prefectures and the Macao Government continues to prohibit the import of aquatic products, fresh foods and animal food products originating from the 10 prefectures. The Japanese Government has been continuously requesting the Hong Kong Government and the Macao Government to immediately lift their current restriction measures.
    The Japanese side will continue to provide relevant information and scientific data etc. to the international community including Hong Kong Government and the Macao Government, in a prompt and appropriate manner, with a high degree of transparency and reliability. We will also continue to request that the Hong Kong Government and the Macao Government take appropriate measures at an early time, based on scientific evidence, for the immediate lifting of import restriction measures, which Japan has been continually seeking.