ISTANBUL 

Japan on Thursday stopped its first attempt to retrieve melted fuel debris at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

It was first time since the 2011 disaster that plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings or TEPCO was set to remove the debris from one of its crippled reactors, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

However, the process was halted even before an attempt was made due to “issues discovered during preparations.”

The issue is related to installation of the robotic removal device – a telescopic device equipped with a gripper tool.

The Fukushima nuclear plant was damaged when a magnitude 9 earthquake, followed by a tsunami, struck Japan in 2011.

“It is better to carry on with the work safely and steadily rather than rushing,” TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa told reporters.

The operator had decided to begin removing debris from number 2 nuclear reactor, which suffered a hydrogen explosion.

According to the report: “There is an estimated 880 tons of fuel debris in the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 reactors.”

If preparations for the trial removal are successful, the operator is planning to retrieve as much as 3 grams of the radioactive debris from the site.

No date was given for when the preparations will resume.

This month also marks one year since Japan began releasing treated nuclear water from the Fukushima plant.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to visit the plant on Saturday.