Beijing – A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on Wednesday rejected Japan’s request to delete from his Twitter account a satirical picture lambasting the decision to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima power plant into the ocean.
On Monday, Zhao Lijian posted a collage based on a work in the popular “Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji” series by Japanese ukiyo-e master Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), prompting Japan’s Foreign Ministry to lodge a protest with China.
The picture “reflects Chinese people’s concern and dissatisfaction with the Japanese government’s unilateral decision” about the “Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water,” Zhao, known as one of Beijing’s hard-line diplomats, told reporters.
Zhao added that the picture “reflects legitimate public opinion and justice. It is the Japanese government that needs to revoke the wrong decision and apologize.”
He said in his Twitter post, along with the picture, “If Katsushika Hokusai, the original author is still alive today, he would also be very concerned about #JapanNuclearWater.”
The satirical picture, believed to be the work of a Chinese illustrator, depicts a person wearing an orange protective suit on a boat pouring deep green liquid from a bucket into the sea. Mount Fuji is replaced by what appears to be a nuclear power plant.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said at a parliamentary session on Wednesday that Zhao’s post is “mindless” and insults Japanese culture. His ministry said it called on China through diplomatic channels Tuesday to delete it.
An illustrator in #China re-created a famous Japanese painting The Great Wave off #Kanagawa. If Katsushika Hokusai, the original author is still alive today, he would also be very concerned about #JapanNuclearWater. pic.twitter.com/NlTFkqvwmN
— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) April 26, 2021
Earlier this month, Zhao created ripples by asking Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso to drink the treated radioactive water after the nation’s former prime minister said it is safe to consume.
In the past, Zhao also came under fire from some other countries after he tweeted that the novel coronavirus was brought by the U.S. Army to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the original epicenter of the pandemic.
On April 13, Japan decided to begin releasing the treated water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in two years, a major development after years of discussions on how to deal with the water used to cool down melted fuel there.
In addition to China, Japan’s neighbors, South Korea and Taiwan, have expressed opposition to the nation’s latest decision, claiming that the treated water would hurt the marine environment, food safety and human health.
Japanese officials, meanwhile, argue that other countries operating nuclear power plants, such as China and South Korea, have released treated radioactive water from reactors there into the environment.
Twitter cannot be seen in China without using virtual private networks.
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