Radioactive water from the stricken nuclear plant in Fukushima should be released into the ocean or vaporised into the air, an expert panel advised the Japanese government on Friday.
The proposal is non-binding and sets no deadline for the government to decide or carry out procedures to deal with the water.
The panel has been weighing the issue for more than three years, but a decision is becoming urgent as space at the site to store the water is running out.
The TEPCO-operated nuclear plant suffered a meltdown in 2011 after it was hit by an earthquake-triggered tsunami.
The radioactive water comes from several different sources -- including water used for cooling at the plant, and groundwater and rain that seeps into the plant daily -- and is put through an extensive filtration process.
The panel convened by the industry ministry said releasing the water into the sea or into the air using vaporisation are "realistic options."