The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by a massive March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, is seen from the nearby Ukedo fishing port in Namie town, northeastern Japan, July 14, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

TOKYO - Japan plans to start releasing treated radioactive water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean as early as late August, local media reported on Monday.

The Japanese government is making arrangements to hold a meeting of relevant Cabinet ministers to make a decision about the specific date of the ocean discharge after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to the United States, Kyodo News reported, citing government sources.

Bottom trawling fishing is scheduled to start off Fukushima, northeast of Tokyo, in September, and the government aims to start the water discharge before the fishing season gets underway, Asahi Shimbun said 

Officials are expected to consider starting the release of the radioactive wastewater sometime between late August and the first half of September, said the report.

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Asahi Shimbun daily reported that the release will likely come shortly after Kishida meets with US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in the United States next week and explain to them about the safety of the water in question.

Bottom trawling fishing is scheduled to start off Fukushima, northeast of Tokyo, in September, and the government aims to start the water discharge before the fishing season gets underway, the newspaper said.

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No specific date to discharge the water has been decided, top government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters during a briefing.

Japan's nuclear regulator last month granted approval for plant operator Tokyo Electric Power to start releasing the water - which Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency say is safe but nearby countries fear it may contaminate food.