This isn't about food safety, as China itself has had a lot of scandals regarding food safety.

She claims that since January, the Chinese government and state media have been running a coordinated disinformation campaign targeting the release of the waste water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

However what happened to Fukushima is nothing to do with China, from building that plan to discharge contaminated water that being done solely by Japan not China.

A single Chinese nuclear power plant releases way more contaminated waste water than Fukushima plans to do, but of course, this fact is never mentioned to the Chinese public:

Chinese N-plants Releasing Water Containing Tritium at Levels 6.5 Times Higher than Planned Fukushima Discharge

https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/world/asia-pacific/20230623-118053/

She is correct, China of all places point a figure at food quality or potential pollution is theater.

Of course it has nothing to do with food safety. Japan joins the US at every change to attack China's economy. This is an easy chance for China to return the favor.

Chinese government and state media have been running a coordinated disinformation campaign targeting the release of the waste water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The BBC and the British broadsheets reported on this issue a few days ago. It was most compelling and aroused my curiosity for an extended period of time. A very bad show might I say. I found a link to the Guardian version below:

Fake or misattributed videos have claimed sea life is turning up dead on beaches, that there have been mass protests, and that a Japanese official who drank treated water from Fukushima at a 2011 press conference had died. Some examples collated by an Australian-based China analyst, Han Yang, on X, formerly known as Twitter, included footage of a rally in South Korea reported by Chinese state media as being in Japan, and fake news about a Japanese politician apparently suggesting Chinese visitors should be made to eat shellfish from Fukushima.

https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/04/state-backed-disinformation-fuelling-anger-in-china-over-fukushima-wastewater-japan

VrethToday 01:09 pm JST

If any of the Fukushima fish trigger a worldwide pandemic that lasts several years then they can talk.

I can understand your sentiment relative to China's cause of Covid, but a 'worldwide pandemic'? Choose better words.

If the author thinks that this is about food safety, perhaps, the author should not be contributing to a national newspapers column. You banned their products, eg, Huawei, claiming National Security. They can ban yours too, claiming National Security. There are as many versions of National Security as countries, each country has their own version, not just yours. If you want to play the game, sometimes results don't go your way.

"This isn't about food safety, as China itself has had a lot of scandals regarding food safety."

100% correct. Of course, we ALL know this, Chinese autocrats included.

For the brave of heart, search YouTube for the video: "Fake & Toxic Foods in China 2023: Unveiling the Unscrupulous Tactics of Profiteering Traders"...you'll never eat another thing produced in China again!

If it’s not about food safety what is it about?

Ive got this hunch that China has some rather grand plans in the short and medium term that would require them to dial up the ‘outside enemy’ volume to 11. Old foe and unfinished business Japan is perfectly suited to play this necessary eternal enemy Orwellian role. The sheer veracity of Chinas condemnation of Japan has me worried there’s something else on the horizon. Really hope I’m wrong.

It's a trump card. Just like when things were not going well for Moon in S. Korea, he'd remind people what Japan did almost a hundred years ago, Japan bad, no one's focusing into our problems.

This is just the same. China's pulling the same trump card Moon used to. Evergrande filed for bankruptcy, CountryGarden is not far behind and they just left massive constructions half way in Tianjin. Graduates can't secure jobs and there's a lot of people (illegally) migrating to other countries. To make matters worse, typhoons are adding to people's misery. And all of this, right after Zero Covid policies.

Things are not looking great for China.