By Erica Li '25, Alex Wang '26
2 weeks ago, my sister came home from school crying. It wasn’t because of the usual “I have so much homework”, or “my best friend doesn’t like me as much as before”, but rather because of a heated geopolitical issue that happened on August 24.
Apparently, two of her classmates singled her out, calling her slurs and blaming her for releasing toxins in the ocean. That made me think — what’s causing elementary school children to scapegoat their peers for politics, and how can we address that?
The answer to that question likely lies in the information that is fed to their children. Within censorship-heavy China, but also the world at large, propaganda and presentations of partial truths remain a severe problem. Let’s untangle the web of misinformation and controversy together to examine the core of the nuclear dump that occurred on August 24.
Ever since the Fukushima incident, the question of nuclear waste disposal has once again been placed under the limelight. If even Japan, the fourth wealthiest nation in the world in terms of GDP, had released 7800 cubic meters of processed nuclear wastewater into the Pacific, how was the rest of the world supposed to keep up? As nuclear energy continues to proliferate, the necessity of finding a timely solution to this crisis is becoming paramount.
After being severely damaged by a tsunami in 2011, the Fukushima power plant has been producing contaminated water every day. In order to safely de-commission the plant in a way that doesn’t deal permanent damage to the land on which it is located, officials sought to first alleviate the waste before starting deconstruction efforts.
Criticism arose immediately, both domestically and internationally. In the three days following the release, the Fukushima facility received over 6000 calls from angry residents demanding justification for this decision. Most attributed their concerns to the health consequences that could potentially accompany such an event, especially since seafood was an integral part of Japanese cuisine. Their concerns weren’t completely unfounded, as China banned all Japanese seafood imports almost immediately after the release.
Media response to this incident was also surprisingly unanimous: almost everyone collectively condemned Japan for what it had decided to do. News outlets highlighted the gravity of the situation, while people, outraged, vented their frustrations on social media by throwing out unsubstantiated conjectures. All this cumulated into a toxic environment filled with misinformation, leading to backlash towards Japanese people without justification. Scenarios similar to the one described earlier are manifesting in various discrete forms, further feeding into discriminatory attitudes towards Asians.
Contrary to popular belief, however, studies indicate that the future may not be completely bleak. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Fukushima had carefully abided by the guidelines in place of safe nuclear disposal. Given that the protocol for waste treatment was probably devised after having analyzed potential impacts, the repercussions of this nuclear dump are probably within the expected range of effects.
Regardless, this problem at its root isn’t something the everyday individual can resolve. The best we can do is simply to remember that the actions of a country don’t reflect the beliefs of individual residents; just because Japan chose to proceed with the nuclear dump doesn’t mean that all citizens are indirect culprits. The past cannot be altered, but we can change the course of the future.
Senior Editor: Sage Yan '24
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