Chinese shoppers are panic-buying salt amid concerns that the release of radioactive wastewater from Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant could affect future supplies.
But at the same time, tourism indicators show that Chinese appear set to flock to Japan after the Japanese government lifted a ban on group travel to several countries.
Ignoring regional and local concerns, Japan has begun gradually discharging the treated radioactive wastewater from its nuclear power plant (damaged after the March 11, 2011 tsunami) into the Pacific Ocean. The water is used to cool the molten reactor core and is stored in huge tanks until it is disposed of.
Although the plan Meets international safety standardsthe Chinese government warned that the move could cause a “secondary disaster” and has Import of Japanese seafood banned and other aquatic products.
“If Japan dumps seawater into the sea for its own self-interest, it may bring man-made secondary disasters to the local people and the whole world,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing in Beijing on Thursday.
Apparently, shoppers are concerned that such a release could contaminate salt collected from the ocean or limit future supplies.
“No need to hoard”
“The panic is unnecessary,” said an article in the government-backed Wall Street Journal. economic times Newspapers, trying to quell fears. About 87 percent of China’s table salt comes from mines, while only 10 percent comes from the sea, the report said.
“China produces enough table salt to meet demand, so there is no need to stockpile,” the newspaper said in an opinion piece on Friday.
[China hypes up Japanese nuclear wastewater causing cancer and teratogenicity]
【Salt grabbing wave across China】
Nuclear treatment water from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan was discharged into the sea. China hyped up negative news such as “nuclear sewage discharged into the sea can cause cancer and teratogenicity”.#grab salt #nuclear wastewater pic.twitter.com/QgTMA9CPp7— Radio Free Asia (@RFA_Chinese) August 25, 2023
Photos and videos uploaded to social media platforms showed shoppers vying for sacks of household salt in supermarkets in Beijing, Zhejiang and Shandong provinces, while shelves once stocked with salt stood empty.
“Yesterday afternoon, people in many places started panic buying salt,” a resident surnamed Zhang in eastern China’s Jiangsu province told Radio Free Asia’s Mandarin channel. He only gave his last name out of fear of reprisals.
“[The release of wastewater] It won’t affect ordinary Chinese people, they can avoid seafood,” he said.
A former government official in Beijing who gave only his surname Wu added: “It will take Japan 20 to 30 years to drain all the water into the sea – are they going to fight for salt in the next 20 to 30 years”? “
At the same time, Fukushima Prefecture topped the most searched list on Weibo social media platform.
Destination: Japan
Meanwhile, industry indicators showed that Chinese tourists appeared set to flock to Japan in the coming weeks after the Japanese government lifted a ban on group travel to several countries.
“Most Chinese don’t seem to care [the Fukushima wastewater]A Japanese reporter who did not want to be named, only nicknamed Harada, told Radio Free Asia in Cantonese. “However, the Chinese government’s approach is contradictory – banning the import of aquatic products on the one hand, and lifting restrictions on this group on the other.” Travel ban. This is very strange. “
Citing Chinese market research firm Longtu International, the Japan Times said Japan ranked fourth among planned destinations this year, after Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand.
Searches for keywords for Japanese destinations have soared since the Ministry of Culture and Tourism lifted a ban on group tours in Japan during the outbreak, according to Chinese travel website Ctrip.
Meanwhile, Trip.com bookings for regional destinations such as Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea during the Oct. 1 National Day holiday are now about 4.5 times higher than the average week in July, according to Nikkei. news site.
While the ban does not apply to personal travel, it has had a huge impact, with airline and rail shares in Tokyo jumping after the ban was lifted.
According to data from the Japan Tourism Agency, in 2019, about 9.6 million Chinese tourists visited Japan, with a consumption of about 1.77 trillion yen, accounting for one-third of the total consumption of tourists.
In the first half of 2023, more than 500,000 Chinese citizens traveled to Japan, compared with 4.5 million in the first half of 2019.
rebound prospects
In Hong Kong, Steve Huen, whose EGLTours company specializes in parcels to Japan, said his company had noticed a 20 per cent drop in bookings to Japan after Wednesday’s announcement of plans to discharge Fukushima’s wastewater.
However, in an interview with RTHK, Huen said he expected demand to rebound in “two to three weeks”.
“I don’t think these labor pains will last long,” Huen said. “The water is coming out so it’s not just in Japan, the fish are swimming around so people keep signing up [for tours]”.
Analysts told Reuters that the prospect of a possible rebound in Chinese tour groups visiting popular sites and attractions could boost Japanese tourism but is unlikely to lead to the kind of shopping frenzy seen before the outbreak.
Yen depreciation has helped Japan become a top five destinations Suitable for tourists from Taiwan.
Reuters quoted CLSA Japan strategist Nicholas Smith as saying that although the weakening of the yen has triggered a rebound in tourism in the United States and Europe, and the rebound has exceeded the level before the epidemic, the yen exchange rate is less attractive to Chinese tourists. Small because China’s own currency is also weakening. .
Additionally, “their ability to buy Japanese products in China has changed over the past few years so they don’t actually have to travel to China to buy Japanese products,” Smith added, referring to the proliferation of stores selling the same items in China. China.
The Japan Tourism Agency has vowed to boost inbound tourism to pre-pandemic levels by 2025, while the government will maintain its existing target of 60 million foreign tourists a year by 2030.
Translated by Louiseta Moody. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
