The Japanese government and the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said on Thursday they plan to postpone the start of removing melted fuel from a reactor by five years, amid delays in the decommissioning process, dpa reported.
The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co had initially planned to start the removal at reactor 1 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in 2020.
They will also remove spent fuel rods from a cooling pool above the reactor in 2019 - a delay of two years.
The delays are not expected to affect the whole process of decommissioning the plant, the Kyodo news agency reported.
It is projected to take up to 40 years to complete the process.
The plant suffered meltdowns at three of its six reactors after it was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
About 130,000 residents have not been able to return to homes near the plant because of radioactive contamination.