The following is from Mr. Sekihei's serial column that marks the front page of the monthly magazine "Hanada" published on the 26th.
It is a must-read not only for Japanese citizens but also for people around the world.
Treated Water Issue, China and South Korea Lacking Common Sense of Civilization
When treated water from TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was discharged into the ocean on August 24, China reacted with hysterics and anomalies.
The Chinese government and the official media launched an exaggerated anti-Japanese criticism campaign day after day and night after deciding that the released treated water was "contaminated water," instilling fear of "contaminated water" in the public and inciting feelings of hatred toward Japan.
As a result, a series of criminal acts occurred, including the throwing of brick fragments into Japanese schools in China and the Japanese embassy, and more than 100,000 harassing phone calls flooded not only TEPCO but also many completely unrelated restaurants and inns from within China.
In South Korea, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, which considers cooperation with Japan important from the security perspective against China and North Korea, maintained its cool.
Still, the largest opposition party, the Co-operative Democratic Party, was just as hysterical as the Chinese government, and its leader, Lee Jae-myung, even staged a "fasting protest" farce.
However, it is a well-known fact to the international community that the treated water released by Japan fully complies with the strict standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and is harmless.
It is why there has been no criticism or opposition from Pacific Rim nations other than China and South Korea.
The United States, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and South Pacific nations such as Australia and New Zealand have all expressed their understanding of Japan's decision to release treated water.
Why have the Chinese and Korean opposition parties reacted so abnormally?
First, behind the Chinese government's vehement criticism of Japan lies a hidden political agenda.
As China's economy collapses and the unemployment rate of its young people expands, the Chinese government wants to channel the nearly exploding discontent of its young people away from China and toward Japan and to obtain a diplomatic card for "beating Japan.
The South Korean opposition, on the other hand, has an ulterior motive of using the "contaminated water issue" as material to bash the governing party.
Neither the Chinese nor the South Korean opposition has presented any scientific evidence to support their claim that the treated water is "contaminated.
In other words, they completely ignore the facts and assume that the treated water is "contaminated" without evidence.
Through the government-regulated media, many Chinese and South Koreans have believed such fact-free assumptions made by the Chinese and South Korean opposition parties.
They are now engaged in radical anti-Japanese actions.
What a ridiculous story!
It is the fundamental spirit, or "common sense of civilization," for us to respect and start from the facts when discussing and thinking about something or taking action.
Because of this common sense of the civilized world, the governments and people of the Pacific Rim countries mentioned above generally understand Japan's release of treated wastewater.
The Chinese and South Korean opposition parties, either in their social groups or in their mentality, lack the common sense and fundamental spirit of the civilized world of "respect for the facts," this case has exposed it spectacularly.
The scene of these people making such a fuss by forcibly labeling treated water as "contaminated water'' highlighted how abnormal and far removed from the civilized world they were.
How does such an abnormal mentality come to be?
One of the factors that shaped this mentality is the Cheng–Zhu school.
Of thought, which has penetrated China and the Korean peninsula intensely over the Korean Peninsula's long history.
It is a consistent tradition of the Cheng-Zhu school to disregard the facts, always brandishing the "good reason theory."
Still, it is precisely because of this lousy tradition that natural science based on facts has never been born in China and the Korean peninsula.
It is precisely because of this dubious tradition that the Chinese and the Korean peninsula are still alive.
Because these dubious traditions are still alive, China and South Korea claim such blatant lies as the "Nanjing Massacre'' and "Forcible Recruitment of Comfort Women'' as if they were facts.
This time, they again demonstrate their abnormal mentality of ignoring such facts to the fullest, slandering the treated water to be released by Japan as "contaminated water" and eagerly trying to stigmatize the Japanese people as "discharging contaminated water."
It is now clear that their mentality is entirely different from that of the Japanese and that they are alien and incompatible with our civilized world.
The teachings of Fukuzawa Yukichi, who advocated "De-Asia Theory" with China and the Korean Peninsula in mind and said, "We should refuse the evil friends of the East in Asia in our hearts," are still very realistic and of great significance.
