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

Fukushima nuclear disaster and water release

Kyodo

Published: 1:12am, 28 Apr 2021

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Japan has protested to the Chinese government after Beijing’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian used an image of Hokusai’s The Great Wave Off Kanagawa to take aim at Tokyo’s decision to release treated radioactive water at the Fukushima power plant.

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.

South Korea and Taiwan also expressed opposition to Japan’s decision, claiming the treated water would affect the environment, food safety and human health.

Explainer: Why is Japan dumping radioactive water at sea?

Japanese officials, however, have pointed to other countries operating nuclear power plants, such as China and South Korea, releasing treated radioactive water from reactors.

The diplomatic row occurred during a week of heighened tensions between Japan and China.

The Japanese government this week described China as a source of “strong” concern in terms of security for the global community in its so-called diplomatic Blue Book. Japan’s Foreign Ministry also for the first time referred to activities by Chinese government vessels around disputed East China Sea islands as a breach of international law.

The Blue Book added to friction between the neighbours, which has heightened in recent months as Tokyo has joined the US and Europe in criticising China over human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, as well as over security issues. It also led to a rebuke from Beijing.

“The Blue Book hypes up the China threat, smears China and interferes in China’s domestic affairs,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday. He added that “we firmly oppose that and have lodged solemn representation with the Japanese side”.

Japan’s Defence Ministry used its annual security white paper released in July to condemn Chinese actions in the region, accusing Beijing of “relentlessly” pushing its way towards uninhabited East China Sea islands claimed by the two countries and saying it was becoming a “matter of grave concern”.

Japan foreign policy report highlights concerns over China’s military

China has repeatedly pressed Tokyo not to align itself too closely with the US, Japan’s only formal military ally. China was high on the agenda when US President Joe Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga at the White House earlier this month, Biden’s first in-person meeting with a foreign leader since taking office in January.

Foreign Minister Motegi is also set to attend the meeting of G7 foreign ministers in London from May 3-5, where concerns about China are expected to be a major topic of discussion.

Japan has continued to indicate it values economic ties with its biggest trading partner. It has avoided imposing trade sanctions on China and on Wednesday parliament approved the 15-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership on Trade, Japan’s first trade deal to include its giant neighbour.

Additional reporting by Bloomberg