The water drainage process began last August, in what Japan says is a major step in stopping the operation of the plant that was struck by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 in the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
China and Russia have banned seafood imports from Japan over safety concerns, which Tokyo said were scientifically unjustified.
Junichi Matsumoto, TEPCO official supervising the operation, said in an explanation to the media that in the fourth discharge, about 7,800 cubic meters of treated water will be transported to the Pacific Ocean, similar to the previous three discharge operations.
The media explanation stated that, as part of a decades-long plan to drain water, the fifth and sixth drainage will take place during the fiscal year that ends in March 2025.
Japan says the water is treated to remove most radioactive elements except tritium, an isotope of hydrogen that must be diluted because it is difficult to filter.
Matsumoto said tritium levels in the surrounding water since the first discharge met pre-set standards and are below World Health Organization guidelines on drinking water quality.
Japan began gradually returning nuclear energy to its various energy sources in an attempt to reduce its carbon footprint and reduce its imports of fossil fuels, after initially shutting down all nuclear reactors after the Fukushima disaster in 2011.
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