U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Sept. 7 criticized China’s “falsities” regarding Japan’s release of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Mr. McCarthy, who arrived in Tokyo on Sept. 7 for the G7 speakers’ meeting, expressed his support for Japan and said that China’s stance on the Fukushima water discharge contrasts with that of other countries.
“I just view it as another way of the Communist Party of China putting falsities out there, trying to divide,” he told reporters. “And it’s just an unfair position that they have and a false position that they have from the rest of the world’s stance.”
Mr. McCarthy ate Fukushima-grown produce during his lunch with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel in order to show his support. Mr. Emanuel said the United States would continue to support its No.1 ally, Japan.
Kishida Held Talks With Chinese Premier
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Indonesia on Sept. 6 in the first high-level talk between the two countries since the release of the water.
Mr. Kishida said he had explained to Mr. Li the safety measures that Japan has implemented to handle the water discharge and urged China to rely on scientific evidence. He refused to comment on Mr. Li’s response.
The Japanese leader had previously asked China to reverse its ban through diplomatic channels.
In the document, the ministry emphasized that Japan’s standard for releasing tritium—which is less than 22 trillion becquerels per year—is lower than those released by China’s nuclear reactors.
CCP ‘Aims to Gain Diplomatic Advantages’
Professor Nobumasa Akiyama of Hitotsubashi University, an expert in international politics and nuclear policy, said he believes that the CCP seeks “to gain diplomatic advantages by consistently maintaining its opposition to Japan’s discharge.”Mr. Akiyama believes that it’s important for Japan to maintain the international community’s trust rather than to worry about strong opposition from specific countries.
“This does not mean that communication is no longer necessary because safety has been scientifically proven; rather, it is necessary to achieve both scientific safety and social security,” he told Japanese media NHK.
“It is important for the Japanese government not to be satisfied with the attitude that many countries do not oppose it, but to patiently provide the information they want to know from the other side’s point of view.”
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has said that if experts worldwide agree that the discharge follows scientific standards and international procedures, there’s no need for concern.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it was a scientific issue and that Taiwan respects the views of experts, while the Philippines’ foreign ministry said it understood the professionalism of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
