Amid recent incidents of local harassment concerning Tokyo’s release of treated Fukushima wastewater, Japan’s embassy in Beijing has expressed the imperative to safeguard its diplomatic missions, consulates, and citizens in China. In response, China asserts its commitment to protecting foreigners’ rights while criticizing Japan’s unilateral wastewater discharge decision.
Japan’s embassy in Beijing said Tuesday it was “extremely worried” about recent harassment by local people over Tokyo’s release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
They urged Beijing to “ensure the safety of these embassies and consulates in China by international law, including some facilities related to Japan, and including Japanese people.”
“China always protects the safety and legitimate rights and interests of foreigners in China, by law,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Tuesday, insisting Beijing had “responded to the so-called concerns of the Japanese side”.
“Ignoring the strong doubts and opposition of the international community, the Japanese government unilaterally and forcibly started the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear accident, which aroused strong indignation among people of all countries,” he added.
“Harassing calls are answered every day, especially on weekends, beginning last Thursday and Friday, delaying our normal work,” the press officer from Tokyo’s embassy in Beijing explained.
On Sunday, Japan’s foreign ministry urged its citizens in China to be “cautious in your speech and behavior. Do not speak Japanese unnecessarily or too loudly.”
Last week, China banned all seafood imports from its neighbor as Japan began releasing cooling water from the crippled Fukushima plant in an operation that Tokyo and the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog have said is safe.
Since then, Japan has urged its citizens in China to keep a low profile and has increased security around schools and diplomatic missions. Businesses in Japan, meanwhile, have been swamped with nuisance calls from Chinese numbers.
Katrine Dige Houmøller, with AFP
