Comment on “China’s Total Embargo ‘Unexpected,’ Release of Treated Water Becomes a Political Issue, Japan Grows Distrust” [in Japanese]
On August 24, 2023, Professor Maiko Ichihara of the Graduate School of Law commented on the Asahi Shimbun article “China’s Total Embargo ‘Unexpected,’ Release of Treated Water Becomes a Political Issue, Japan Grows Distrust.” The article explains the situation in which China has used the card of a total embargo on Japanese seafood products in response to the release of treated water from TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, which has been described by Japan as ‘unexpected’ and ‘an extraordinary response,’ with no sign of a political solution in sight. Professor Ichihara argued that there were three political aims behind the Chinese government’s response to the release of the treated water. First, given that there is critical voice to the discharge of treated water in Japan, the Chinese government sought to provoke discord in Japan. Secondly, the closeness between Japan and South Korea under the Yoon administration is a situation that China is wary of, and China is trying deteriorate Korean sentiment towards Japan by taking measures to provide moral support to those who oppose the discharge of treated water. Finally, they used the anti-Japan nationalism card with an awareness of domestic public opinion in China.
