Washington: The United States is “satisfied with Japan’s safe, transparent, and science-based process” of releasing treated water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the sea, which began Thursday, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in a statement Friday.

In the statement, Matthew Miller also said that the United States welcomes “Japan’s continued transparency and engagement with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) as well as with regional stakeholders” on the release of the treated water, which still contains tritium.

The statement acknowledged that “Japan has been open and transparent as it has sought to responsibly manage” the Fukushima plant, which was devastated by the March 2011 massive earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan, and the water issue, “proactively coordinating with scientists and partners from across the Indo-Pacific region” as well as the IAEA.

“We continue to grieve with the people of Japan who suffered so greatly from” the disaster, the spokesperson noted.

JIJI Press