Fukushima wastewater release suspended after earthquake

The release of wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant was suspended following an earthquake, its operator said while stressing that the move was precautionary.

A 5.8-magnitude jolt struck off the coast of the northeastern Fukushima region, home to the plant wrecked by a tsunami in 2011 at 00.14am local time, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

"We have confirmed remotely that there were no abnormalities on ALPS treated water dilution/discharge facility, etc.," Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said on X, formerly Twitter, referring to the water release process.

The discharge of water is expected to resume later in the day.

It was the system’s first emergency shutdown since it was put into operation last year.