Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga will hold a ministerial meeting as early as next week to start discussions on the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station into the ocean, broadcaster FNN said on Tuesday.

FNN said Mr Suga is also expected to meet the head of the national federation of fisheries cooperatives to discuss the potential release of the water.

Water used to cool the melted-down cores and groundwater from close to the damaged facility contains some radioactive materials. It is being collected, treated and stored in tanks on the plant grounds, but space is running out and the government is exploring ways to deal with the waste water – which already totals more than one million tonnes with the volume increasing by more than 100 tonnes every day.