Japan China Tensions Over Fukushima Waste Water

The release of Fukushima radioactive waste water into the Pacific is sparking tensions in the international community, especially with China.

China has banned Japanese seafood imports, and Japan views the Chinese reaction to the incident as “regrettable.”

Japan started discharging the water on Thursday of last week. This was twelve years after the Fukushima incident. It was part of a plan to finally decommission the power plant, which China has criticized.

“A lot of harassment phone calls believed to be originating from China are occurring in Japan…These developments are extremely regrettable and we are concerned,” Chief Cabinet Secretary and Spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular news conference.

The calls pushed the vice foreign minister of Japan, Masataka Okano, to summon the Chinese ambassador, Wu Jianghao, to request that Chinese people respond calmly.

Chinese Protests Against Fukushima Water

The Chinese have not taken the release of diluted tritium water in the Pacific so well. Last Thursday and Friday, hundreds of Chinese callers flooded Fukushima city hall out of concern about the water issue. They called over two hundred times on Friday alone. Municipalities, schools, hotels, and restaurants have been getting similar calls since then.

Initially, Chinese callers were answered in Japanese, but when they were able to speak to someone, they inquired why the Japanese are “releasing tainted water into the Pacific Ocean, which is a sea for everyone.”

There are also protests abroad. Stone-throwing was reported at the Japanese embassy and consulates, as well as at Japanese schools in China. There is talk of a joint scientific discussion with a panel of international experts.

On Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida asked China to stop harassment of Japanese citizens and institutions over the Fukushima water release.

“I must say it is regrettable”

The release of Fukushima water from the plant continues to divide the national and international community alike.

Japanese and international experts have condemned the release of diluted tritium wastewater. The natural radioactivity of tritium would decrease in around twelve years, and releasing all radioactive materials is estimated to take approximately thirty-five years.

According to many others, including experts cited by Prime Minister Kishida, due to the level of dilution in the Pacific Ocean, the minimal quantities of radioactivity do not pose much of a threat.

This does not ease public opinion. Japanese fishermen are upset about this and are worried about the reputation of their products. And rightly so because China immediately banned all imports of Japanese seafood as an official response to the Japanese position.

In South Korea, thousands of people joined rallies over the weekend to condemn the discharge.