Japanese officials plan to start releasing treated but still slightly radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean as early as Thursday, 12 years after a massive earthquake and tsunami caused the meltdowns of three of its reactors and the continuing leakage of cooling water. Here is a timeline of events:
— March 11, 2011: A magnitude 9.0 earthquake strikes off the coast of northeastern Japan, triggering a towering tsunami that smashed into the Fukushima nuclear plant, knocking out power and cooling systems and triggering meltdowns in three reactors.
