Tokyo, 17 October, /AJMEDIA/
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida traveled to Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, Sunday to visit the disaster-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant for the first time since taking office Oct. 4.
He will receive an explanation from officials of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. <9501> on progress in the work to decommission the nuclear power station and on treated radioactive water at the plant.
Kishida is expected to show his resolve to make all-out efforts to tackle possible misinformation and unfounded rumors related to the planned release of the water, which contains tritium, a radioactive substance, into the ocean.
This is his first visit as prime minister to Fukushima, which was hit hard by the March 2011 major earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent severe accident at the TEPCO nuclear plant. An unprecedented triple meltdown occurred at the Fukushima No. 1 plant due to damage from the natural disaster.
On Saturday, he visited areas damaged by the quake and tsunami in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures. The three prefectures, including Fukushima, are part of the Tohoku region. They were hit hardest by the natural disaster.
