China's media strategy is something truly to behold.
It is as if the Chinese government is testing the world’s tolerance for aggressive narratives and disinformation. Take when, in April 2021, then Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lijian Zhao posted an image on Twitter based on Hokusai’s famous woodblock print “The Great Wave off Kanagawa.” The image had been altered to show nuclear workers jettisoning radioactive materials into the sea. Zhao claimed that his post "reflects Chinese people's concern and dissatisfaction with the Japanese government's unilateral decision" to release treated water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Some 1.3 million tons of water have been stored in tanks at the Fukushima site, greatly hindering decommissioning work. Late last month, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, the operator of Fukushima nuclear plant, released the treated water into the sea, after diluting it with seawater. Seeing this, China reiterated its usual, unwavering opposition to the discharge.