The head of the UN's nuclear agency has arrived in Japan as the country prepares for the imminent release of treated radioactive wastewater in the Pacific Ocean.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Grossi is to hold top level talks and visit the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
The IAEA has said Japan's plans to release the treated water is consistent with international safety standards.
Japan is hoping the visit will add credibility to its plan to release 1.3 million tonnes of contaminated wastewater into the sea.
There are grave concerns from Pacific Nations and differing scientific views over whether dumping the water, which has been used to cool damaged reactors, is safe.
University of Hawaii marine biologist Robert Richmond, who was one of five independent scientists engaged by the Pacific Islands forum to assess Japan's plans, is disturbed by what he's seen and heard.
"We actually sat through a number of presentations by people who are non-scientists making statements that were demonstrably false. When information is either falsely represented, inadequate, inaccurate and these statements are being made to Pacific leaders, I find that very disconcerting and it's not by accident that this is occurring, it's by design."
Richmond is damning over the process and says when they travelled to Japan they met with "a combination of arrogance and ignorance".
He said they wanted to talk with scientists there to get data and due diligence but instead got government officials.
"Japan has some of the best scientists in the world and I don't think they are working on this particular issue."
Richmond said while the water is being treated the biology of the ocean is often ignored and there needs to be more research done before Japan starts releasing the wastewater.
But others like David Krofcheck from Auckland University is adamant the science is robust and he has confidence the release of radioactive wastewater into the Pacific is completely safe.
He said if all the filtering and diluting is done "then I will drink the water".
Krofcheck said international countries like the US, UK and Germany, which have nuclear power and expertise in measuring, "all measured the same samples of water that the Japanese labs measured and they came up with the same number and that gives me a lot of confidence that the science is being done correctly and there are external eyes looking at what the Japanese are doing".
But he said it would be helpful if there is some kind of international group who could oversee the process and take samples going forward which will help allay fears.
"I would also like to see this water double checked before it's released — that would be the most confidence building thing that could be done."
Pacific Islands Forum secretary-general Henry Puna said the upcoming release is "an issue of significant transboundary and transgenerational impacts".
He said the move has the potential to set a precedent for deliberate dumping of high volumes of nuclear waste into the Pacific.
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