Aug. 28 (UPI) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday urged China to halt harassing phone calls in response to Tokyo’s decision to release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Kishida called the phone calls, which numbered in the hundreds and targeted Japanese businesses and government offices “regrettable.” He also warned of escalating protests as Japanese officials also said in some incidents, demonstrators threw eggs at Japanese schools in China.
“There have been numerous harassing phone calls thought to have originated in China and instances of stones being thrown at the Japanese Embassy,” Kishida told reporters.
The prime minister also noted that Japan had summoned China’s ambassador to the nation over the calls.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hriokazu Matsuno said during a press conference Monday that many of the calls bore the Chinese country code of 86 and complained about the water release in broken Japanese and English.
“We call on the Chinese side to act calmly and appropriately and to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of Japanese residents in China,” Matsuno said.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry has followed up by warning its residents traveling to China to be on alert, telling them to “act with care” and to refrain from standing out.
The head of the junior coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party postponed a trip to China. Matsuno said Kishida would provide help in rescheduling the Chinese trip at an “appropriate time.”
In response, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters Monday that China had always protected the safety, legitimate rights and interests of foreigners,
Last Thursday, the nuclear plant started releasing the treated water from the No. 1 nuclear station into the ocean, despite pushback from the local fishing industry and other neighboring countries. The plant expects to gradually release up to 22 trillion becquerels of tritium per year from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station over the next 20 or 30 years.
China responded by suspending seafood imports from Japan ahead of the water discharge, citing the possibility of lithium contamination.
Kishida on Monday said he hoped to discuss the status of the water with China “scientifically.”
“Even since the start of the discharge, the United States for example has expressed satisfaction with Japan’s safe, transparent and science-based process,” Kishida said. “In this context, we would like to convey to the Chinese government these voices of the international community.”
