Photo/Illutration In a statement posted on the Chinese Weibo social media site on Aug. 26, the Japanese Embassy in Beijing complains about harassing phone calls from China to Japan, calling them “criminal acts.”

Japan demanded Chinese authorities crack down on abusive phone calls to individuals and businesses in Japan following the contentious release of treated radioactive water into the ocean from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

The Japanese Embassy in Beijing posted a statement on the Chinese SNS “Weibo” on Aug. 26 complaining about harassing phone calls from China to Japan regarding the Aug. 24 discharge of filtered and diluted water into the Pacific Ocean.

It referred to the phone calls as “criminal acts” and asked the Chinese government to take strict action in accordance with the law.

A video circulated on Chinese SNS showing a young man, presumed to be Chinese, making random phone calls to Japan and demanding an explanation for the decision that prompted Beijing to suspend all imports of seafood from Japan.

Japan says the water release program is a crucial step in the process of decommissioning the nuclear complex after the triple meltdown triggered by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the tsunami that followed it.

Since Aug. 24, the embassy has been urging Japanese nationals living in China not to speak in Japanese unnecessarily or loudly when outdoors so as not to inflame the situation.

Harassing phone calls to the embassy jumped sharply since Aug. 24, said an official, adding that a music event scheduled to be held at the diplomatic compound on Aug. 26 was canceled due to safety concerns.　

As of Aug. 26, no reports had emerged of trouble from Japanese citizens or Japanese companies in connection with the Fukushima issue.

But in Fukushima itself, prefectural police reported that several business, including restaurants, received a series of phone calls displaying the Chinese country code “86” from Aug. 24 to 26.

The content of the calls is believed to have centered on the release of the treated water.

Prefectural police are recommending victims consider a system that would stop international calls from getting through “in bulk” to thwart the Chinese callers.

One restaurant owner in the prefecture told The Asahi Shimbun that the number of calls beginning with the 86 prefix began on Aug. 24 and that by Aug. 26 the eatery had received 40 to 50 calls. The calls began in Japanese with words of greeting like “moshi moshi” and “konnichiwa,” followed by a one-sided conversation in Chinese.

“I never imagined my restaurant would be directly inconvenienced,” he said, adding that colleagues of his had received similar calls.

“I think this is one of the foreign reactions to the release of the treated water. I hope the government will take proper action through diplomatic channels.”

In Tokyo, the Edogawa Ward Cultural Center said it also received a number of incoming calls displaying the 86 prefix from Aug. 24 to 26. Ward officials reported the matter to the police because the calls prevented legitimate calls from getting through.

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