International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi

Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will visit nuclear power plants in Japan from Feb. 18 to 20, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Tuesday.

Grossi will visit Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and an interim storage facility for soil from radiation decontamination work, both in Fukushima Prefecture, as well as the company's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture.

He will join researchers from China, South Korea, France and Switzerland in monitoring treated water being released into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima plant.

Grossi is also scheduled to hold talks with Japanese government officials, including Iwaya.