Japanese Schools in China Harassed After Treated Water Release; Embassy Urging Japanese Residents to be Cautious

Akiko Yoshinaga and Miho Tamura / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondents

14:47 JST, August 28, 2023

There has been a series of harassment cases against Japanese schools in China since Thursday, when treated water began to be released from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

The Japanese Embassy in China has asked local authorities to strengthen security, and has warned Japanese students and their parents.

According to the embassy and the Consulate-General of Japan in Shanghai, a stone was thrown onto the grounds of a Japanese school on Thursday evening in Qingdao, Shandong Province, and a Chinese person was detained on the spot. Early Friday morning, several eggs were thrown onto the grounds of a Japanese school in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. No injuries or damage to the facility were reported. A Japanese school in Beijing also received crank calls.

The embassy is urging Japanese residents to be cautious, such as not to speak Japanese too loudly when out.