Beijing protects foreigners in China; again expresses strong opposition to Fukushima water dump

TV Asahi: Since Japan started discharging treated radioactive water into the ocean, some people in China have thrown stones into Japanese schools and made harassment calls to Japanese restaurants. What measures will China take in response to this? Wang Wenbin: First, China protects and ensures the safety and lawful rights and interests of foreign nationals in China in accordance with laws.  I would also like to stress that in disregard of the international community’s strong criticism and opposition, the Japanese government unilaterally started the release of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean. Japan’s neighboring countries and the international community have criticized this selfish and highly irresponsible action and taken precautionary measures. The DPRK’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that in disregard of the strong protest, opposition and warning from both at home and abroad, the Japanese side unilaterally started the release of the nuclear-contaminated water, calling that a “crime against humanity” that would cause “catastrophic consequences” only to serve Japan’s selfish interests. Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister expressed strong opposition to Japan’s decision of ocean discharge, saying that it “has an impact on our people, ocean, economy and livelihood.” Vanuatu’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister called for efforts to reject Japan’s discharge. Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said that the ocean discharge will force regional countries to increase the scale and intensity of detection of radiation concerning the marine environment and living resources. ROK Prime Minister said that the country will demand an immediate halt of the release and file an international lawsuit in the event that the concentration level of a single nuclide goes beyond the standard, and ROK will also keep in place its import ban on fishery products from eight Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima. The ROK’s Democratic Party called the release of the nuclear-contaminated water an act of “environmental terrorism”. Germany’s Federal Environment Minister said that she is extremely critical of any additional discharge of radioactive substances into the sea. Only when all other possible means have been exhausted can the last resort of ocean discharge be considered, and any plan like that must be carried out on a scientifically sound basis and the process must be transparent. Malaysia’s health director-general said that the country will impose higher-level inspection on high-risk food products imported from Japan. Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration said it will strengthen examination of seafood imported from Japan and double the collection of samples for examination. The beginning of discharge of the nuclear-contaminated water into the sea also met with strong opposition in Japan. The Democratic Party of Japan raised concerns over the discharge plan of the government which violated its commitment. The Social Democratic Party of Japan said that the outrageous act of deliberately dumping radioactive material into the sea is unforgivable. The National Fisheries Cooperative Federation of Japan and the fisheries cooperative of Miyagi have jointly reiterated their opposition to the plan. Organizations including the Hiroshima nuclear bombing victims group rallied to stop the ocean discharge plan. According to a Japanese poll, about 40% of the people surveyed oppose the plan, 88.1% are worried that it will damage Japan’s image and potential economic benefits, and 81.9% think that the Japanese government’s explanation is insufficient. Even the US, who has said it’s “satisfied” with Japan’s ocean discharge plan, has actually reduced imports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products from Japan over the first half of this year, as has been reported. You may ask the US what it’s worried about. We strongly urge Japan to take seriously the legitimate concerns of all sides, stop dumping the nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, engage in full consultation with its neighbors and other stakeholders, and dispose of the nuclear-contaminated water in a truly responsible way. __________________ ShanghaiEye focuses on producing top-quality contents. Nobody knows SHANGHAI better than us. Please subscribe to us ☻☻☻ __________________ For more stories, please click