An employee of Tokyo Electric Power Company explains about the facility to be used to release treated radioactive water to media at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima, northern Japan, on June 26, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

TOKYO – Japan's nuclear regulators on Friday formally gave the green light to facilities for discharging nuclear-contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, local media reported.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) issued the certificate to the plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), showing that the facilities have passed final checks, according to Kyodo News.

The approval was given after the nuclear watchdog inspected the system which includes pumps to take in massive seawater and emergency shut-off valves, it said.

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The move means logistical preparations have been completed, putting the country on track to start releasing nuclear wastewater into the sea around this summer, said the report.

The approval came after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published its final comprehensive safety review report Tuesday on Japan's ocean discharge plan, claiming that the plan "is in conformity with the agreed international standards."

After IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi handed over the report to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday, protesters at home and abroad expressed their disapproval. 

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The protesters said the Japanese government was simply "unreasonable" in taking the IAEA report as "a permit for ocean discharge" in total neglect of the opposition from local residents, the fishing industry and neighboring countries.