KYODO NEWS




 

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday that Japan conveyed its concern to China over harassment by Chinese citizens following the start of the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant last week, calling such behavior "regrettable."

Earlier in the day, Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano summoned Chinese Ambassador Wu Jianghao and called on China to encourage its people to "react calmly" to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens and facilities in the neighboring nation.

Okano also strongly urged the Chinese government to deliver "accurate information" on the safety of the water, which has been treated through a process capable of removing most radionuclides except tritium.

The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo said in a statement later in the day that Wu lodged a protest with Okano, asserting that a large number of nuisance calls have been made from Japan to Chinese diplomatic missions in the country, impeding their operations.

Kishida told reporters that Japan's water release is aligned with global safety standards and has been accepted by many other nations including the United States and Australia. He said he hoped to talk with China on the issue "scientifically."

In China, anti-Japan sentiment has been growing since the water discharge from the crippled nuclear complex into the sea began on Thursday. There has been a flood of nuisance phone calls believed to originate from China and online appeals to boycott Japanese products.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., the operator of the Fukushima plant, said it has received more than 6,000 phone calls from China over four days through Sunday, although it did not disclose the contents of the calls.

A rock was thrown into the grounds of a Japanese school in Qingdao last Thursday, while eggs were hurled Friday at another Japanese school in Suzhou in eastern China's Jiangsu Province, according to Japanese government sources.

At a news conference in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the government is aware that many Chinese consumers have avoided buying Japanese products and canceled trips to Japan.

But Matsuno, the government's top spokesman, did not elaborate on the potential impact of the boycott campaign on the Japanese economy. He pledged to implement all possible measures to safeguard Japanese citizens in China.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Monday that China has always protected the safety, legitimate rights and interests of foreigners in the country in accordance with the law, brushing aside Japan's complaints.

Meanwhile, the head of the junior coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has postponed a trip to China. Matsuno said Kishida's government will help in rearranging the tour at an "appropriate time."

Komeito chief Natsuo Yamaguchi had planned to visit China for three days from Monday, but the Communist-ruled nation told the party, known for its close ties with Beijing, that "it is not the right time in view of the current situation."

As for Yamaguchi's envisioned trip, Wang said the postponement was mutually agreed upon, but Beijing "attaches great importance" to exchanges and dialogue with Komeito, which is willing to make efforts to improve the Sino-Japanese relationship.

Japan says the treated water is safe, given that it is diluted to reduce the tritium levels to less than one-40th of the concentration permitted under national safety standards before being released into the Pacific Ocean.

On Sunday, the Japanese government said the radiation levels of the first samples of seawater collected by the Environment Ministry since the water discharge were below detectable limits.

China, however, has labeled it "nuclear-contaminated water" and reacted harshly to the release by banning all imports of seafood products from Japan.

Kishida said Monday that his government will craft by the end of this week the details of steps to support the fishery industry, which is expected to be negatively affected by the blanket import ban.

In another development, Japan's Foreign Ministry has requested its citizens planning to travel to or stay in China to be on alert, asking them to "act with care" and to refrain from speaking Japanese loudly in public spaces.

In the early 2010s, tensions between Tokyo and Beijing escalated after the Japanese government of then Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda brought the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea under state control in September 2012.

The group of uninhabited islets, called Diaoyu in China, is administrated by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing.

Noda's move sparked anti-Japanese protests across China. At that time, many Chinese people burned Japanese flags in opposition to Tokyo's purchase of the islands.