The Japanese government will tomorrow, Tuesday, set the date for the discharge of treated water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean.Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura said today at a press conference he gave.

The plan was approved in July by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but has raised concerns among Japanese fishermen and neighboring countries such as China.

The operation, which is expected to last for years, will have no impact on the environment or to people’s health, according to Tokyo.

“We want to gather the relevant ministers tomorrow to make a decision to start discharging the water after confirming the progress of efforts aimed at guaranteeing safety and repairing the damage to the image” of the Japanese fishing industry, Nishimura noted.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met today in Tokyo with Masanobu Sakamoto, the representative of the Japanese fishing industry, after his visit yesterday, Sunday, to the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.

“We asked for an understanding of the need to dispose” of that water, Kishida said after meeting with Sakamoto, noting that dumping the water into the ocean is “essential” to making progress in dismantling the station, on which “depends rebuilding Fukushima”.

Kishida added that tomorrow he will have a meeting with the relevant ministers of his government to decide on the start date of the disposal of the treated radioactive water.

The Japanese government plans to set up a compensation fund of 30 billion yen (about 190 million euros) to help local fishermen deal with damage to the reputation of their products.