Japan will begin releasing a second batch of wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant from next week, its operator has said, an exercise that angered China and others when it began in August. On 24 August, Japan began discharging into the Pacific some of the 1.34m tonnes of wastewater that has collected since a tsunami crippled the facility in 2011. “The inspections following the first release have been completed … The (second) discharge will start on 5 October,” Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) said on Thursday. China banned all Japanese…
Tag: Japan
China, Japan and South Korea agree talks to calm fears over US ties
The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea will hold three-way talks “as soon as possible” after a meeting intended to ease Chinese concerns over Washington’s stronger security presence in the region. Official said on Tuesday that the three countries’ deputy foreign ministers had agreed to revive trilateral talks after a four-year hiatus during which tensions have risen over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme and Chinese military activity. Lim Soo-suk, a spokesperson for South Korea’s foreign ministry, said the leaders’ summit would be held at the “earliest mutually convenient time”,…
China drastically cuts seafood imports from Japan in wake of Fukushima water release
Chinese seafood imports from Japan have plummeted following Beijing’s ban on marine products from its neighbour in response to the discharge of wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Imports fell by 67% in August from the same month a year earlier, to about ¥3bn ($20.2m), the public broadcaster NHK said, citing data from Chinese customs. The decision by Beijing and Hong Kong to suspend all imports of Japanese marine products in late August has sparked a diplomatic row and a rise in anti-Japanese sentiment in China, with Japanese…
Putin and Kim’s Embrace May Place Xi in a Bind
To challenge the power of his chief rival, the United States, China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, has linked arms with two anti-Western states, declaring a “no limits” partnership with Russia and pledging “unswerving” support for North Korea. But the specter of a budding bromance between President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, after their meeting this week in eastern Russia, may not be as welcome a development for Mr. Xi as it might initially seem. Closer ties between Pyongyang and Moscow could result in…
China Conducts Major Military Exercises in Western Pacific
The joint exercises come after the United States conducted a series of military drills across the region in recent weeks with allies like Japan, Australia and the Philippines. On Saturday, the American and Canadian navies sailed ships through the Taiwan Strait. What We Know China’s Shandong aircraft carrier was one of at least 20 Chinese naval vessels spotted navigating waters around Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines starting on Tuesday, according to the Japanese and Taiwanese governments. Other vessels identified by Japanese officials included missile destroyers, frigates and supply ships. China…
Toyota’s Dominance Threatened by Rise of Electric Vehicles
Rachel Culin considered herself a Toyota loyalist, one of millions of people who appreciated the company’s reliable and fuel-efficient hybrids. But she recently bought an electric Chevrolet Bolt to replace her Toyota Prius because the Japanese automaker had been too slow when it came to selling electric vehicles. “Where are the options for those people who love Toyota?” Ms. Culin, a resident of Mesa, Ariz., said. “It’s really sad.” Once the leading brand for environmentally conscious car owners, Toyota has failed to keep up with changing consumer preferences and a…
China signals Xi Jinping will not attend G20 summit in India
Xi Jinping’s attendance at the G20 this weekend has been all but ruled out after China’s foreign ministry announced the team would be led by the country’s premier, Li Qiang. It will be the first time that a Chinese leader has not attended the G20 leaders’ summit since the first was held in 2008, although Xi attended only virtually in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic. The US president, Joe Biden, said last week that he hoped Xi would attend the summit in Delhi, but US officials played down…
State-backed disinformation fuelling anger in China over Fukushima water
Fake news and state-backed disinformation are fuelling Chinese anger at Japan over its release of treated wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant. In the last week, there have been reports of rocks and eggs thrown at Japanese schools in two Chinese cities, abusive phone calls to Japanese businesses and social media campaigns to boycott Japanese products including cosmetics. It has prompted Japan’s government to summon the Chinese ambassador and urge caution among its China-based citizens. Japan began its release of more than 1m tonnes of water on 24 August.…
Businesses in Japan receive abusive calls from China after Fukushima water release
Tokyo has urged Beijing to “ensure the safety of Japanese residents in China” after a wave of telephone harassment targeting businesses in Japan sparked by the controversial discharge of Fukushima wastewater last week. While Japan insists the release of the treated water is safe – a view backed by the UN’s nuclear watchdog – China has staunchly opposed it and banned all Japanese seafood imports, saying it contaminates the ocean. The Japanese government on Sunday published new data showing waters off Fukushima continued to post radioactivity levels well within safe…
Seafood Is Safe After Fukushima Discharge, But Some Won’t Eat It
Seafood is having a bad week in East Asia, which is bad news for a region where it’s a major part of the diet. Experts say Japan’s discharge into the ocean of treated radioactive wastewater from the ruined Fukushima nuclear power plant, which began on Thursday, does not and will not pose health risks to people who eat seafood. But even though the scientific evidence bears that out, not everyone is convinced. On Thursday, the Chinese government widened a ban on seafood imports to include all of Japan instead of…