The water was collected from the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was heavily damaged in a devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The decision has sparked outrage from environmental groups.

Japan has begun to pump more than a million metric tons of treated water from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The process is expected to take decades to complete.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government is facing a wave of criticism at home and abroad after allowing the release of treated radioactive water from Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean.

For decades, the United States and Soviet Russia were the only countries that had landed on the moon. Then came China and India. Now, Japan is trying for the second time in 2023.

Tokyo has summoned the Chinese ambassador over hundreds of crank calls believed to originate from China. Japan has begun to release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which Beijing says is not safe.

People in northeastern Japan, especially fishermen, fear that the controversial decision to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant will inflict new hardships on them.

Toyota said it was suspending operations at 14 manufacturing plants in Japan due to a system malfunction. The company was investigating the issue, and did not suspect cyberattack.

Countries around the world continue to report extreme temperature records. In India, August was not only the hottest but also the driest on record.

July 2023 saw the third edition of a fashion competition in Paris called Africa Fashion Up. It aims to give a platform to young, up-and-coming African talent. Five designers from across the continent presented their collections at the Musée du Quai Branly, as they celebrated local craftsmanship with a global appeal. The winner, Aristide Loua, is an Ivorian who lived in France before returning to his home country, where he spent two years reacclimatising before embracing fashion. FRANCE 24 went to meet him and the other designers.

Japan is marking 100 years since a devastating earthquake triggered a widespread inferno in Kanto, a region that includes the capital Tokyo. Most victims perished in the fire.

The release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant prompted China to ban Japan's seafood imports. Japanese officials say they are now looking to boost export markets in places such as Taiwan, the US and Europe.

Japan's lunar mission comes two weeks after India successfully landed its craft on the moon's south pole.