China's 'Wave' of Concern: Fukushima Wastewater Release Sparks Politically Motivated Tsunami
On the 24th of August, Japan began to release the treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi plant which was destroyed in the 2011 Earthquake. As a result of the plant being severely damaged by the earthquake, water has been continuously pumped into the plant to ensure that the damaged reactor cores are prevented from overheating, being then stored in more 1,000 tanks constructed by Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco). Since 2011, over 1.3 million tons of radionuclide-contaminated water has been collected by Tepco, where it gets treated by a pumping and filtration system known as the Advanced Liquid Processing Systme (ALPS) which removes most of the radioactive elements before being stored in these tanks near the destroyed plant. More recently, Japan unveiled a plan in April of 2021 which outlined a timeline for the discharge of this treated water into the sea surrounding the plant over a period of 30-40 years, as the full decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi plant site requires these tanks to be removed.
This plan has come under distinct scrutiny, as the ALPS filtration is unable to completely remove all radioactive material, namely the radioactive hydrogen isotope tritium, due to tritiated water maintaining a distinct chemical similarity to water. Tritium is a common by-product of nuclear power plants, and proponents of Tepco’s discharge highlight the fact that individual nuclear plants in China and the Republic of Korea release from two to ten times greater than the planned annual tritium release from Fukushima. Moreover, the final level of tritium is below 1,500 becquerels per litre after dilution, or 1/40th of the safety standards and 1/7th of the WHO’s standards for drinking water. These findings have been certified and supported by the IAEA and many scientists, but the reaction from within East Asia has been distinctly different.
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretary General Henry Puna expressed concerns about the environmental and human health implications of this proposal, given that the majority of Pacific peoples rely on the ocean for their subsistence. The Republic of Korea and Taiwan also initially expressed concerns with the plan, but their governments have changed tune. The new Korean president Yoon Suk-Yeol has offered support, and Taiwan has supported the plan, provided the radiation levels remain at a safe level in Taiwanese reporters; however, both states have faced distinct protests from their respective populations. China has referred to Japan’s actions as “extremely irresponsible”, accusing Japan of reaching their decision “without regard for domestic and foreign doubts and opposition” when the plan was announced in 2021.
China’s reaction has continued, and then some, upon the recent release of the water, blasting Japan’s actions, all while calling them reckless and describing the release as treating the ocean like a “sewer”. Chinese state media similarly ran along with the sentiment of outrage against Japan, with one article describing that China is “stepping up” for “the sake of being responsible to humanity” as “the country really cares about environmental protection”. Nationalist netizens have taken the story from there, promoting unfounded claims about contaminated fish and poisoned humans, both calling for a boycott of Japanese goods and making hundreds of calls to Japanese businesses. A few Chinese cities have experienced a salt-buying frenzy, with people queuing for hours to purchase a bag due to unfounded rumours regarding salt as a means of curing radiation sickness. Moreover, China officially banned all Japanese seafood right after the release of the first batch, to “prevent the risk of radioactive contamination of food safety”.
Even as state media and the Chinese government’s official press releases have claimed the environment as the sole reason for this reaction, geopolitics plays a key role. Anti-Japanese sentiment in China runs deep, with Chinese nationalists often invoking the Second Sino-Japanese war in their rhetoric. A dispute over five islets in the East China Sea a decade ago led to the seeming possibility of war. More recently, officials in Beijing have watched with frustration as Japan draws closer to the United States and shows increasing support for Taiwan. With respects to the wastewater issue, Japan says China has rebuffed its offers to hold meetings where it would address any worries. Even then, despite the seafood ban, Chinese fishermen have been reportedly seen catching fish off the coast of Japan in mid-September, demonstrating the hypocrisy of China’s response.
With second batch of wastewater beginning its discharge on October 5th, the evolution of the reaction from the international community is yet to be seen. China will allow for internal outrage over Japan to continue to foment yet again, using this as a second chance to ratchet tensions between the two significant players in East Asia. More likely, however, is that this will become a non-issue, as there are decades remaining for all the wastewater to be released, and the seafood ban hurts Chinese businesses as well as Japanese fishermen. It is likely, albeit impossible to predict, that further releases will be commented on without significant political action, unless it becomes necessary for Chinese propagandising. Considering the Chinese government’s willingness to pull levers within its state media and social media, allowing for outrage over Japan’s actions to remain within the consciousness of Chinese citizens, this saga serves as a key indicator of how states advance their geopolitical aims by exploiting such incidents.
Image courtesy of Yomiuri Shimbun, AP via Time, ©2023. Some rights reserved.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.
