Japan and China clash over Zhao’s Fukushima tweet using ‘Great Wave’ image amid strained relations
- Foreign Ministry spokesman used the image, altered to show workers dumping radioactive material, to take aim at Japan’s decision to release treated water at the power plant
- Japan has reportedly lodged a protest with China over Zhao Lijian’s Twitter post, saying it insults Japanese culture and calling for it to be deleted
Zhao on Monday tweeted the image, which adapted one of Japan’s most recognisable works of art to show a power plant in the background and workers in hazmat suits dumping radioactive material in the sea.
“If Katsushika Hokusai, the original author is still alive today, he would also be very concerned about #JapanNuclearWater,” Zhao wrote.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Tuesday told reporters Japan had lodged a protest over the tweet and asked for it to be taken down. Administrative Reform Minister Taro Kono, who has previously used face coverings to send a diplomatic message, on Wednesday wore a Hokusai-print mask.
Zhao has previously been criticised by other countries for tweeting that the novel coronavirus was brought by the US army to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the original epicentre of the pandemic.
Japan earlier this month decided to begin releasing the treated water into the sea from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in two years, a major development after years of discussions on how to deal with the water used to cool down melted fuel there. China is among the countries to have criticised the move, which the US and the International Atomic Energy Agency have supported.