Drumil Modi, Pune
After Japan released treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific, the country claimed to have received numerous “extremely regrettable” harassing phone calls from China, as reported by news agency Reuters. The Chinese embassy in Tokyo, however, stated that the Japanese side had also made a lot of unwanted and bothersome calls regarding the issue.
This happened after Japan released radioactive water on Thursday as part of its plans to shut down the Fukushima plant. Following a tsunami that struck the nation in 2011, the plant experienced three meltdowns, making it the worst nuclear plant disaster since Chornobyl 25 years earlier.
On Thursday, calls with the China country code +86 started coming into Fukushima City Hall; later, the number of these calls exceeded 200. According to officials, these calls clogged phone lines and interfered with city employees’ regular work.
Masataka Okano, the vice foreign minister, subsequently called the Chinese ambassador to discuss the situation, according to the foreign ministry of Japan. However, when questioned about the allegations of harassment during a routine briefing on Monday, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry stated that they were not aware of the situation.
Later, according to a statement issued by the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, the Chinese consulates in Japan were receiving “a large number of nuisance calls from Japan,” according to Reuters. The Chinese embassy in Tokyo claimed it had filed severe complaints with Japan over the matter.
The issue was brought up by Ambassador Wu Jianghao, who stated that the issue also led to “serious interference in the normal operation of the embassy and consulates.”
In response, the foreign ministry of Japan issued a formal statement claiming that the harassing calls were also being made at Japanese facilities in China. The ministry also asked the administration to guarantee the security of Japanese nationals in the nation.
Speaking on the subject, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated that following several cases of stone-pelting on a Japanese school and embassy, the government had “strongly” encouraged Beijing to urge its residents to act “calmly and responsibly”.