Japan has recently released radioactive water into the Pacific. Due to its Fukushima plant accident, Japan has been accumulating radioactive cooling water, and is attempted to safely release it in the ocean.
This has angered China, who has been using the opportunity to attack Japan diplomatically. The Wall Street Journal reports:
China banned seafood imports from Japan on Thursday, shortly after Tokyo started releasing water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The releases include small amounts of radioactive tritium, similar to or less than what other countries with nuclear power plants discharge.
For weeks Beijing has been whipping up public outrage, accusing Japan of treating the Pacific as a sewer. Tokyo says radioactive elements in the water were reduced to safe levels, and it says tests of the ocean water near the plant after the discharge didn’t detect anything unusual. China says it doesn’t trust the Japanese data.
In an attempt to counter the Chinese ban on Japanese seafood, the Prime Minister took a surprising step. The Japan Times continues:
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ate what he called “safe and delicious” fish from Fukushima on Wednesday, days after wastewater was released from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in the area into the Pacific.
The release of a video clip showing Kishida eating Fukushima fish, published on social media by his office, comes after China banned all seafood imports from its neighbor following the discharge that began on August 24.
While China’s opposition is most likely driven by politics, it did bring up arguments against nuclear power. However, nuclear power remains relatively safe, clean, and prevents energy dependency on dangerous areas of the world.
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