Approved by the Japanese government, TEPCO started releasing water from the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, sparking protests in Japan and neighbouring countries, in particular China, which banned aquatic product imports from Japan. The controversial discharge is a major step in the decommissioning process for the reactors hit by a triple meltdown following the March 2011 tsunami.

TEPCO is storing about 1.3 million tonnes of the contaminated water, enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools, in tanks on the site. The release of the first 7,800 cubic metres, equivalent to about three Olympic pools, will take about 17 days. It is estimated it will take about 30 years to release it all.

On 8 September 2023, around 150 fishermen filed a lawsuit against TEPCO and the Japanese government. The plaintiffs argue the government unlawfully allowed water from the Fukushima plant to be released.