Japan has agreed to the independent monitoring of the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant by China and other stakeholders, following multiple rounds of consultations between Beijing and Tokyo since August last year, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.

Central to what Japan has agreed to is its commitment to establishing a long-term international monitoring arrangement within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This will cover key stages of the discharge process and enable stakeholders, including China, to conduct independent sampling, monitoring and inter-laboratory comparisons.

Both sides have also agreed to continue constructive, science-based dialogue with a great sense of responsibility for the ecosystem, the environment, and human life and health to properly address concerns over the discharge of the nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean.