Japan's contentious plan to dump Fukushima radioactive water into sea to start in spring or summer

The Japanese government on Friday said a controversial plan to release radioactive wastewater from a crippled nuclear plant in Japan's northeast into the Pacific Ocean will start in the spring or summer.

The schedule of the contentious plan to start releasing toxic water from the disaster-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, into the ocean, was confirmed at a meeting of cabinet ministers at the prime minister's office on Friday.

During the meeting of relevant cabinet ministers, financial support for fishing communities which will suffer reputational damage when the radioactive water is dumped into seas where they fish, was endorsed, as stipulated by a revised policy on the disposal of the treated water.

Japan's fishing industry has vociferously made clear its ardent opposition to the plan, as it will almost certainly cause further damage to the industry's reputation in the already maligned region.