The ongoing conflict between China and Japan continues. China has requested Japan to expand the investigation area around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, but Japan has refused.
According to the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun on the 26th, China demanded new investigations into the water quality of contaminated water before treatment with the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), along with the soil around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant during expert consultations between China and Japan held in January and March of this year. China also urged for monitoring beyond the maritime area proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as per international standards.
However, Japan responded that it is monitoring the seawater and fish according to IAEA standards and that an investigation team including Chinese experts from the IAEA is conducting regular inspections. Japan expressed its policy not to respond to China’s request, stating that it is conducting necessary investigations according to IAEA standards.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping had previously agreed to seek solutions to the contaminated water issue through consultations at a summit held in San Francisco, CA last November during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Kishida is scheduled to visit South Korea to attend a trilateral summit between South Korea, China, and Japan, and will have a bilateral talk with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the same day.
Kishida plans to request Li to promptly lift China’s ban on imports of Japanese seafood, which started as a response to Japan’s measures on the release of contaminated water into the ocean. However, as the claims of both countries are conflicting in the expert consultation, Yomiuri Shimbun reported that it is difficult to expect progress toward resolving the issue. In mid-May,
Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko and Wang Yi, a member of the Central Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and Foreign Minister attempted to hold a meeting in preparation for the summit, but it did not take place as they failed to reach an agreement over the issue of contaminated water.