China's strong rebuke of the release of treated Fukushima wastewater into the Pacific Ocean this week has caused bad blood, stoked accusations of misinformation and hypocrisy, and led to some suggesting Beijing is capitalizing on the event to help stir up broader geopolitical tensions with Japan.
Tensions began ramping up Thursday after Japan began the release of treated wastewater from its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean — a plan that was subject to years of scrutiny from the Japanese government, utility providers, and the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, which have cleared the treated water as safe for release.But their approvals did little to assuage Beijing.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Electric Power Company President Tomoaki Kobayakawa pledged to do his “utmost” to provide scientific assessments of the release in order to lift the ban, noting China's status as the top importer of Japanese goods. "Then there is the continuing effort to paint Japan as a negative force regionally and internationally. This seems part of the features of PRC-Japan rivalry, which is of course entangled with PRC-U.S. competition, given Tokyo’s close alliance relationship with Washington.”
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