Saturday marks exactly six months after the operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant started releasing treated and diluted water into the sea.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company has carried out three rounds of water discharge so far, releasing a total of 23,351 tons of water from 30 tanks.

Analyses of seawater samples conducted by the utility and other parties including the Japanese government have shown a maximum tritium concentration of 22 becquerels per liter. The figure is far below the 700-becquerel standard set by Tokyo Electric for suspending the release.

The International Atomic Energy Agency last month published its first full report on a review of the discharge. The report reaffirmed that the operation is consistent with international safety standards.

The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered a triple meltdown during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Water used to cool molten fuel has since been mixing with rain and groundwater.

The accumulated water is being treated to remove most radioactive substances, but still contains tritium. The treated water is stored in more than 1,000 tanks.

Tokyo Electric began discharging the treated water into the ocean in accordance with government policy on August 24 last year. The water is diluted to reduce tritium levels to about one-seventh of the World Health Organization's guidance level for drinking water.

But recent incidents at the plant have stoked concerns among residents in Fukushima Prefecture.

Last October, five workers at the plant were accidentally splashed with liquid containing radioactive substances, resulting in two of them being hospitalized. Earlier this month, untreated water was found to be leaking from a filtering device.

Meanwhile, China imposed a total suspension on seafood imports from Japan last August, calling water accumulating at the plant "nuclear-contaminated."

Japan has since been demanding an immediate lifting of the measure, saying China's claim is lacking scientific grounds.

On Tuesday, Japan's Ambassador to Beijing Kanasugi Kenji held talks with China's Ecology and Environment Minister Huang Runqiu. Kanasugi emphasized that discussions from a scientific point of view are important.

The Chinese side has been seeking to build an international monitoring system that involves Japan's neighbors. It has yet to show any signs of lifting the restrictions.