Photo/Illutration About 7,800 tons of treated radioactive water will be released into the ocean from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant between Oct. 5 and 23. (Takeshi Iwashita)

More than half of Chinese people are not worried about Japan’s release of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean or need more time to make a judgment on the discharge, a survey showed.

Although nearly 50 percent of Chinese respondents said they were worried about the water release, the survey results showed that a majority in the country do not agree with their government’s harsh words and response to the Japanese action.

Japan’s Genron NPO and the China International Communications Group conducted the survey on 1,000 people in Japan and 1,506 in China in August and September.

The survey found 26.7 percent of Chinese respondents said they were “not at all” or “not very” worried about the water discharge, while 25 percent said it was too early to make a judgment.

Among Japanese respondents, 37.3 percent were not worried, while 29.5 percent said they needed more time to form an opinion.

Although the percentage of worried people was 14 points higher in China, the overall trend was similar to that in Japan.

After Japan began releasing the water in August from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the Chinese government said the water was “contaminated” and imposed a blanket ban on Japanese seafood imports.

However, Chinese public opinion does not appear as negative as the Chinese government’s rhetoric.

A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said Japan’s water discharge plan met international safety standards.

Beijing asserted that the IAEA’s assessment was insufficient.

But nearly half of the Chinese respondents, or 46.9 percent, said they trusted the IAEA’s report.

Still, 50 percent of respondents in China said the treated water should not have been released, regardless of the IAEA assessment, or that the agency’s report was not credible.

In contrast, only 7 percent in Japan said the same things.

The Genron NPO said the water discharge row did not arouse fierce opposition from the Chinese public, but it did fuel anti-China sentiment in Japan.

Although 36.7 percent of Japanese respondents cited the Fukushima water issue as an obstacle in the development of Japan-China relations, only 5.8 percent of Chinese respondents did so.

A whopping 92.2 percent of Japanese respondents said they had a negative impression about China, up 4.9 points from last year. The ratio is the second highest since the survey began in 2005.

In contrast, 62.9 percent of respondents in China had a negative impression of Japan, up only 0.3 point from last year.

And while 7.8 percent of Japanese respondents said they had a positive impression of China, down 4 points from last year, 37 percent of Chinese respondents said they had a good impression of Japan, up 1.8 points for the second consecutive year of increase.

The survey also asked about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

While 46.9 percent of respondents in China said the invasion was wrong, they also said Russia had its reasons to take such military action.

Some 16.3 percent of Chinese respondents said the invasion violated international law and should be opposed. Combined, more than 60 percent of people in China have a negative opinion of Russia’s invasion.

The survey also found 59.1 percent of Chinese respondents believe there will be a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait in the coming years or decades, up 2.4 points from last year.

In Japan, 40.5 percent of respondents, down 4 points, also expect a future conflict in the Taiwan Strait.

Among Chinese respondents, 48.1 percent said “Japan” or “the United States and Japan” would be a possible cause of such a conflict, up significantly from last year.

Related News