Japan has said a brick was thrown at its embassy in Beijing and that its citizens in China were facing harassment since it began releasing wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific.
China has been the most vocal opponent to the release plan, a key part of Japanese efforts to decommission the plant that was destroyed in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Japan has sought to reassure critics about the discharge and the United Nations’s nuclear watchdog has said the process meets international standards, but Beijing remains unconvinced.
Last week, as the first water began to trickle into the ocean, China banned all Japanese seafood imports. Other countries have also stepped up inspections of Japanese aquatic products while there have been protests in South Korea and Japan itself.
On Tuesday, Japan’s foreign minister confirmed media reports that a brick had been thrown at its embassy in Beijing and said embassy staff had been the target of numerous crank calls originating in China.
He called on Beijing to take steps to calm the situation. “It is extremely regrettable and worrying,” Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo.
