Tokyo: Two major Japanese political parties on Wednesday agreed that parliament will meet on Sept. 8 to discuss the release of treated water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan agreed that the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, will hold a joint session of its industry and agriculture committees in the morning that day.

The House of Councillors, the upper chamber, is expected to hold a similar meeting in the afternoon, people familiar with the matter said.

The Lower House meeting will be attended by industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and agriculture minister Tetsuro Nomura. Executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., the operator of the nuclear plant, will be asked to appear at the meeting.

The CDP called on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to attend the meetings. The LDP refused the request, however, as Kishida is scheduled to visit Indonesia and India from Tuesday through Sept. 11.

The Fukushima plant started discharging the treated water, which includes small amounts of radioactive tritium, into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday.

JIJI Press