Tokyo again condemned, on Tuesday, August 29, the acts against the Japanese attributed to China, since the beginning of the discharge into the sea of the waters of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Japan on Thursday began discharging Fukushima water into the Pacific Ocean from injections needed to cool damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant since the 2011 tsunami in northeast Japan. This operation has been validated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and Tokyo assures that it will be safe for the environment and human health. China, however, has suspended all seafood imports from Japan since the previous week in response to the start of the water discharge.
Since then, a wave of telephone harassment against Japanese companies and stone throwing against Japanese schools in China have occurred. These actions are “extremely regrettable and disturbing,” Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Tuesday.
Mr. Hayashi also confirmed that a brick was thrown at the Japanese Embassy in China. Questioned by Agence France-Presse on Tuesday, the embassy confirmed that this information was “generally accurate”. “So far, there have been no protests or violence (…). But there are a few people, alone, who have, in front of our door (…) done what you have just mentioned”, reported an embassy spokesperson. These individuals were “arrested” by Chinese security forces stationed outside the embassy, he said.
Asked what action Beijing would take following the incidents, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Monday that China “always protects the safety and legitimate rights and interests of foreigners in China, in accordance with the law “.
“We urge the Japanese side to address the legitimate concerns of all parties, immediately stop the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, fully consult with neighbors and other stakeholders, and seriously dispose of nuclear-contaminated water responsibly,” Wang added.
China urged to ‘provide accurate information’
Speaking at a press conference, Hayashi on Tuesday urged the Chinese government “to immediately take appropriate measures, including calling on its citizens to act calmly to prevent the situation from escalating, and to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals” in China.
Mr. Hayashi also called on Beijing to “provide accurate information on the treated water” from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant, whose discharge into the sea began Thursday, August 24, “rather than causing unnecessary concern to the public. by providing information devoid of any scientific basis”.
The water was treated to rid it of its radioactive substances, with the exception of tritium, then diluted with seawater before discharge into the ocean, so that its level of radioactivity did not exceed the targeted ceiling 1,500 becquerels per litre. This is a level forty times lower than the Japanese standard for this type of operation, which is common practice in the nuclear industry worldwide.
Seawater tests carried out since the beginning of the discharge have confirmed that the level of radioactivity was in line with forecasts and did not exceed the ceiling set, according to Tepco, the operator of the plant, and the Japanese authorities.
Based on its own analysis, the IAEA also assured last Thursday that the level of radioactivity in the tritiated water that Japan began to evacuate was “well below” the operational limit set at 1,500 becquerels per liter.
In total, Japan plans to discharge more than 1.3 million cubic meters of tritiated water from Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean until the early 2050s, according to the current schedule.