Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday condemned the stone throwing, which has particularly affected the Japanese embassy and schools in China since the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant began being discharged into the sea last Thursday.
• Also read: Introduction of Fukushima water: the first safety tests are conclusive
• Also read: In China, sushi fans are worried about the Fukushima water spill
• Also read: Fukushima waters: D-Day for controversial sea dumping
“There have been many incidents of phone harassment believed to have originated in China, as well as stone-throwing incidents at the Japanese embassy and schools. It has to be said that these facts are unfortunate,” Mr. Kishida told reporters.
Japan also summoned the Chinese ambassador to Tokyo on Monday to protest the spate of telephone harassment from China that Japanese companies have been suffering for several days.
We “urged him to urge the Chinese people to act calmly and responsibly,” Kishida added.
“Even after the discharge (of the water from Fukushima) into the ocean, for example, the United States was satisfied with Japan’s safe, highly transparent and scientifically sound process.” We would like to convey these voices of the international community to the Chinese government,” the Japanese said Prime minister.
China has suspended all seafood imports from Japan since last week in response to the start of water drainage, including from injections, needed to cool the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after it was destroyed by the 2011 tsunami in northeast Japan.
This process has been validated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and assured Tokyo that it is safe for the environment and human health.
When asked Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Beijing “always ensures the security and respect for the legitimate rights and interests of foreigners in China in accordance with the law.”
“We urge the Japanese side to heed all parties’ legitimate concerns to immediately stop the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea” and deal with the problem “responsibly,” he said. – he adds.
Thousands of phone calls
Since the operation began, seemingly random Japanese businesses ranging from bakeries to aquariums have received thousands of calls from Chinese numbers.
On social media, Chinese netizens have shared videos showing how to call Japanese numbers, with some posts garnering tens of thousands of “likes.”
Since the rejection began, there have been “a large number of phone calls and other forms of harassment, which are believed to have come from China,” Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Masataka said Monday. Okano to the Chinese Ambassador.
“A number of similar incidents are also happening in China against Japan-affiliated companies. This is extremely unfortunate and we are deeply concerned,” Mr Okano added, according to his ministry’s press release.
Japan’s embassy in Beijing warned local nationals not to speak Japanese out loud this weekend, and announced on Monday that it had stepped up security around Japanese schools and diplomatic missions in the country.
In total, Japan plans to evacuate more than 1.3 million m3 of “tritiated” water from Fukushima to the Pacific Ocean by the early 2050s, according to the current schedule.
This water was treated to rid it of its radioactive substances, with the exception of tritium, and then diluted with seawater before being discharged into the ocean, so that its level of radioactivity reached the target limit of 1,500 Bq/L, ie a value , not exceeded 40 times lower than the Japanese standard for this type of operation.
According to the Japanese authorities, since the discharge began, seawater tests have confirmed that the level of radioactivity was in line with forecasts and did not exceed the established limit.