China Allegedly Behind Misinformation Campaign Targeting Fukushima Water Release

Japan’s Fukushima Wastewater Discharge Targeted by Chinese Misinformation Campaign, Reports Say

A coordinated misinformation campaign likely orchestrated by China targeted Japan’s release of treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, according to analyses cited in Japanese media reports on Thursday. The campaign, which also extended into South Korea, appears to have been designed to amplify opposition and stoke regional tensions over the controversial water release.

The suspicious online activity began almost immediately after the Japanese government announced in April 2021 its decision to discharge treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The facility suffered catastrophic damage during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan’s Tohoku region.

According to the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun, critical content first appeared on a Japanese-language TikTok account just two days after the announcement. The account, which used an image of a man reportedly exposed to radiation in China decades earlier as its profile photo, published a series of similar posts over a five-day period.

The operation’s sophistication became apparent when analysts observed how these posts were amplified approximately two months later by what they described as a wave of multilingual engagement. Japanese information analysis company JNI noted that by June, each post had attracted around 1,000 likes and between 670 and 700 comments in English, Korean, and Japanese.

“These appear to be deliberately created accounts engaged in activity designed to make the posts seem widely circulated,” said Nanase Tatsuguchi, a senior analyst at JNI. The company highlighted that many comments contained phrases not typically used by native Japanese speakers and repeatedly referenced “Godzilla” – a term Chinese state media frequently employed when criticizing Japan’s wastewater discharge plan.

The campaign’s scope extended well beyond social media. Microsoft identified a Chinese-linked influence operation known as “Storm-1376” that operated across 175 websites in 58 languages, according to an April 2024 report. The technology company found that this group intensified its activities around August 2023, coinciding with Japan’s commencement of the treated wastewater release.

In South Korea, where the wastewater release has been particularly contentious, the operation uploaded hundreds of critical posts on Korean platforms. Some contained misinformation about public health risks associated with the discharge, while others incorporated inflammatory statements from current President Lee Jae-myung, who was then serving as leader of the liberal Democratic Party.

At the time, Lee had denounced the discharge as “nuclear contaminated water terrorism” and “a second Pacific War” – rhetoric that appeared to be selectively amplified by the misinformation campaign. Microsoft’s report indicated that these posts were designed to deepen political divisions within South Korea.

The Fukushima wastewater release has been a source of significant regional tension. Despite assurances from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Japan’s treated wastewater discharge plan meets international safety standards, China and South Korea have expressed strong concerns. China banned all seafood imports from Japan following the commencement of the release, a move that has significantly impacted Japan’s fishing industry.

This alleged misinformation campaign highlights the increasingly complex landscape of information warfare in international disputes. As countries manage environmental challenges with cross-border implications, the potential for coordinated disinformation efforts to exacerbate tensions and complicate diplomatic solutions appears to be growing.

Japanese authorities continue to maintain that the treated wastewater poses no significant risk to human health or marine ecosystems, pointing to the extensive filtration process that removes most radioactive elements before discharge, with the exception of tritium, which is diluted to levels well below international safety standards.