Japan needs to take real actions to earn trust of its Asian neighbors: ministry

(ECNS) -- "We would like to remind Japan that to be a responsible country, it can’t rely on empty talk. Japan needs to take the concerns of the international community seriously and take real actions to earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the rest of the world," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Wang's remarks came after the Japanese government’s decision to dump the nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean.

Some scholars at the Jeju Research Institute recently wrote an article saying that the Japanese government will make a big mistake by choosing the worst way to dispose of the nuclear-contaminated water which may cause humanitarian disasters, instead of other options suggested by experts for so-called economic reasons, Wang was told at the press conference.

“Many people may wonder why Japan won’t discharge the nuclear-contaminated water, which it claims to be safe and harmless, into Japan’s inland rivers or use it for agricultural and industrial purposes and instead insists on dumping it into the ocean. It is extremely irresponsible of Japan to selfishly put the world at risk,” Wang said.

One would expect Japan to show more sense of responsibility in addressing international concerns as the G7 presidency puts it in the spotlight this year, the spokesperson noted.

Disappointingly and disturbingly, despite the concerns of its Asian neighbors and the international community, Japan has kept pushing the ocean discharge plan, dramatically increased its defense spending, developed offensive weapons, repeatedly sought to break away from the pacifist constitution and commitments to an exclusively defense-oriented policy, and often sought to honor the militarists and justify their war crimes during World War II, he said.

He pointed out that that Japan keeps saying that it is a responsible member of the international community.