Japan asks China to urge citizens to halt harassment after start of Fukushima wastewater release

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has asked China to urge its citizens to halt acts of harassment, including crank calls and stone throwing at Japanese diplomatic facilities and schools, in response to Japan’s release of treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant. The discharge of the wastewater into the ocean, which began Thursday and is expected to continue for decades, has been strongly opposed by fishing groups and by neighboring countries. China immediately banned all imports of Japanese seafood. In South Korea, thousands of people joined rallies over the weekend to condemn the discharge. All seawater and fish sampling data since the release have been way below set safety limits.