The Japanese government has unilaterally and unilaterally forced the discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the ocean, without regard to the strong doubts and opposition of the international community. China expresses its firm opposition and strong condemnation.
On September 6, at a summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)+3 in Indonesia, China expressed its opposition to the full-scale ocean discharge of ALPS treated water from TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (hereafter “treated water”) and strongly condemned Japan.
China has now imposed a total embargo on Japanese marine products, and Hong Kong has followed suit. Prime Minister Kishida strongly criticized China’s response as “outlandish behavior,” and Premier Li Qiang countered that it “affects people’s health,” resulting in an unusual exchange of views.
However, China’s “strong condemnation” was not taken seriously at all by other countries. This is because the treated water is not “nuclear contaminated water” as China claims. Both the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Group of Seven (G7) have already acknowledged its safety and the appropriateness of discharging it into the ocean, and have expressed their support.
The Malaysian media reported, “Japan has been transparent about the release of treated water. Chinese diplomacy may be gentlemanly on the surface, but not in action,” and Thai media reported, “I don’t think ASEAN will agree. Instead of aggressive diplomacy, a more appropriate approach should be taken,” they reported.
Furthermore, at the same time, European countries such as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein successively removed import restrictions on Japanese food products, in direct contrast to China.
The British government issued a statement reiterating that it “fully supports the Japanese government,
Kirby, the U.S. coordinator for public affairs and strategic affairs, criticized China’s response, saying, “There is no reason for any country to take punitive economic measures in this case.
Australian Ambassador to Japan Justin Hayhurst (@AusAmbJPN) wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on September 5: “We are having fish and chips today at the Embassy with fish from Fukushima. Australians love fish and chips,” “We will continue to use ingredients from Fukushima Prefecture at the Australian Embassy,” “Fukushima fish is safe,” and “Yum,” and the video received over 70,000 “likes! and “Fukushima fish is safe” and “delicious. Even South Korea, which has expressed strong concerns about the treated water, has stated that there are no scientific or technical problems with the plan and that the government will guarantee the safety of Korean and Japanese marine products distributed in the country.
The largest opposition party in South Korea, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPJ), continues to take a strong opposition stance, but Yoon Jae-ok, the leader of the ruling National People’s Power Party, dismissed it, saying, “The only countries that have taken the unorthodox position of fighting the IAEA are Syria, Iran, and the North (DPRK).
In fact, only China, Russia, North Korea, and certain forces under their influence are opposed to the release of treated water, continuing to make unscientific claims such as “nuclear contaminated water” at this late stage.
These countries have long been named and pointed out that “North Korea, China, and Russia are engaged in various forms of harmful activities against Japan, and the police are monitoring their movements on a regular basis, gathering and analyzing information, etc.” (Police White Paper).
As if to confirm this, the South Korean public security authorities have revealed one after another the fact that the Chinese government and North Korea have been conducting intelligence operations to spread false information about the Fukushima treated water in South Korea.
China has used foreign students and Korean groups to manipulate public opinion against South Korea…Active in the THAAD and Fukushima contaminated water issues (Chosun Ilbo, August 11, 2023)
The North ordered anti-government forces in South Korea to take action against the contaminated water from Fukushima (Chosun Ilbo, September 6, 2023).
North Korea issues orders at every turn and faithfully carries them out in South Korea (Chosun Ilbo, Sept. 6, 2023).
In other words, the import control measures by China are not a “rumor problem. It is clear that the essence of this issue is not a “lack of accurate information dissemination” or even “factual correctness,” but rather a piece of information manipulation and diplomatic warfare involving political interests.
China has taken similar actions in the past with rare earth export controls, and there are countless precedents of de facto restrictions on imports of pineapples from Taiwan, bananas from the Philippines, coal from Australia, and so on, taking advantage of political conflicts in addition to Japan.
NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) also reported that the exchange between Japan and China over the treated water issue was clearly labeled a “diplomatic battle.
