China Attempts to ‘Gain Diplomatic Advantages’ by Opposing Japan’s Release of Treated Nuclear Water: Expert

The storage tanks for treated water at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, on Aug. 22, 2023. (Kyodo via Reuters)

China announced on Aug. 24 that it would ban all imports of Japanese seafood as Japan began releasing radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean.

Tokyo signed off on the plan two years ago and was given a green light by the U.N. nuclear watchdog last month. The discharge is a key step in decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi plant after it was destroyed by a tsunami in 2011.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that the discharge was consistent with international safety standards, and the radiological impact on human beings and the environment would be “negligible.”

Tokyo Electric Power, which owns the plant, said the treated wastewater was released into the sea about 0.6 miles offshore, starting at around 1 p.m. on Aug. 24. First, it diluted 1 ton of nuclear process water with about 1,200 tons of seawater, stored it in a large tank, and then took final measurements of tritium concentration. The results showed a maximum emission of 63 becquerels per liter, below the 10,000 becquerels of tritium per liter set as the maximum for drinking water by the World Health Organization. 

An hour and a half after Japan’s discharge of radioactive water began, some Asian nations addressed the issue. South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo told the public that if experts worldwide agree that the discharge follows scientific standards and international procedures, there is no need for concern. Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it was a scientific issue and Taiwan respects the views of experts. The Philippines’ foreign ministry said it understood the professionalism of the IAEA.

However, fisheries and fish consumers in neighboring countries have expressed their opposition and concern. There are also people in Japan who oppose the government’s discharge program.

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The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) opposed the move. State-run media outlets called the treated wastewater “nuclear wastewater.” Moreover, China’s customs authorities announced that they would suspend all imports of seafood products originating in Japan starting from Aug. 24.

CCP ‘Aims to Gain Diplomatic Advantages’

Commenting on the CCP’s hardline stance, professor Nobumasa Akiyama of Hitotsubashi University, an expert in international politics and nuclear policy, told Japanese media NHK: “On the surface, China strongly opposes it due to concerns about environmental pollution from the discharge. However, in reality, it aims to gain diplomatic advantages by consistently maintaining its opposition to Japan’s discharge.”

Mr. Akiyama believes that it is important for Japan to maintain the international community’s trust rather than worrying about strong opposition from specific countries.

“This does not mean that communication is no longer necessary because safety has been scientifically proven; rather, it is necessary to achieve both scientific safety and social security. It is important for the Japanese government not to be satisfied with the attitude that many countries do not oppose it, but to patiently provide the information they want to know from the other side’s point of view,” he said.

Responses From Tokyo and IAEA

In response to Beijing’s seafood ban, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that he has already requested China to reverse the decision through diplomatic channels. Regarding the safety of the treated wastewater, he will urge the Chinese side to rely on scientific evidence and allow experts to discuss the issue thoroughly.

Tokyo has also allocated 80 billion yen (about $550 million) to support the fishing industry and mitigate potential losses.

Mr. Kishida also said that the IAEA released a statement on Aug. 24 that the tritium concentration in the treated water was significantly lower than the required standard. The organization will also be releasing monitoring data frequently in the near future, intending to increase transparency by making all types of data available to the international community.

Last month, the IAEA opened an on-site office at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to continuously monitor and objectively assess whether emissions meet safety standards. It has also established a mechanism to routinely communicate emissions-related information to South Korea and has welcomed visits from Korean experts to the Fukushima on-site office.

CCP Incites Anti-Japanese Sentiment

During a press briefing on Aug. 24, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin strongly condemned Japan over the Fukushima discharge.

Verbal attacks and insults against Japan have flooded China’s social media for several days. Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the Chinese tabloid Global Times, lashed out on Weibo, saying, “Let’s direct our firepower at ... Japan.”

As the CCP has repeatedly stirred up anti-Japanese sentiment and caused social unrest, the Japanese Embassy in Beijing sent an e-mail to Japanese nationals living in China on Aug. 24, reminding them to be more vigilant and that “the possibility of unexpected events cannot be ruled out.”

China’s Tritium Emissions

A study showed that Japan’s discharge of nuclear-treated water would not be problematic for mainland China. In 2021, professor and academician Zhang Jianmin of Tsinghua University and other experts conducted a simulation study on Japan’s discharge of nuclear-treated water and published their results in the National Science Review.

The results showed that it would take 240 days for Japan’s discharge of nuclear-treated water to reach the Chinese coast due to ocean currents.

Li Jianmang, a Chinese nuclear energy expert living in the Netherlands, posted an article on Weibo, citing a number of scientific data, saying that the nuclear wastewater discharged from the Fukushima plant shouldn’t be a cause for concern. But his post was deleted within three hours, and his account was suspended.

Fukushima Daiichi releases 22 trillion becquerels of tritium annually, while several nuclear power plants in China discharge more tritium annually than Fukushima, according to NHK.

Earlier this month, Wang Chongde, secretary general of the Atomic Energy Commission of Taiwan, said in an interview with Liberty Times that judging from the 2019 data, the total amount of tritium emitted from China’s nuclear power plants in a year is seven to eight times more than that of Japan.

Reuters contributed to this report.