英语新闻丨Japan draws up whitewash plan to salvage image

Japan plans to strengthen the monitoring and analysis of information about the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean and is seeking extra funding to step up public relations efforts at home and abroad.

日本计划加强对福岛第一核电站核污水排海相关信息的监测和分析，其正在寻求额外资金用以提升国内外的公关效果。

The Japanese foreign ministry intends to include approximately 70 billion yen ($474.21 million) in its budget request for the next fiscal year to combat the spread of information it believes to be incorrect regarding the ocean discharge, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported. It also plans to enhance strategic external communication.

据日本放送协会NHK报道，日本外务省拟在下一财政年度预算申请约700亿日元（合4.742亿美元），以打击在排海问题上的错误信息流传。其还计划加强战略对外宣传。

Specifically, this includes expanding monitoring to detect so-called fake news and strengthening the capacity to disseminate information that the Japanese government believes to be accurate. The ministry also plans to utilize artificial intelligence for information collection and analysis, the report said.

具体来说，计划包括扩大监测范围，发现所谓的假新闻，并加强对所谓正确信息的宣传。报道称，该部还计划引入人工智能进行收集和分析信息。

Before taking the above measures, the Japanese government devoted a lot of effort in whitewashing its decision to release nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean.

在采取上述措施之前，日本政府花费很大功夫来粉饰其将核污水排海洋的决定。

Tokyo has set up a 30-billion-yen fund with the aim of minimizing the reputational impact associated with the ocean discharge. The fund has been used nationwide to support the expansion of seafood sales channels, temporary purchase and storage of seafood, and public relations activities related to the Fukushima plant's contaminated water.

日本设立了300亿日元的基金，旨在最大限度地减少排海相关的声誉影响。该基金已在全国范围内用于支持扩大海产品销售渠道、临时收储海产品、以及与福岛工厂污水有关的公关活动。

Publicly available information indicates that the fund has so far supported 16 public relations projects. The maximum support for these projects totaled 2.7 billion yen.

已公开的信息表明，到目前为止，基金支助了16个公关项目。这些项目的最高支持总额达27亿日元。

Winning bidders of the projects include the Yomiuri Shimbun Group, the Distribution Economics Institute of Japan, and JR East Marketing & Communications.

项目的中标者包括读卖新闻集团、日本流通经济研究所和JR东方营销传播有限公司（ JR East Marketing & Communications）。

"The government should spend more money finding better ways to deal with the nuclear-contaminated water, rather than trying to promote the idea that the radioactive water released into the ocean is safe," said Michiko Ueno, 64, a resident of Chiba Prefecture.

千叶县64岁的居民上野美智子（Michiko Ueno）说：“政府应该花更多经费寻求更好的方法来处理核污水，而不是试图宣传排海核污水安全的理念。”

Given that various types of radioactive substances remain in the contaminated water, Ueno is concerned about the safety and health issues that may arise from the discharge. She joined a protest in Tokyo on Sept 6 and urged the government to spend money to develop methods to properly remove radioactive substances from the contaminated water so that it does not have to be discharged into the sea.

由于核污水中残留着各种类型的放射性物质，上野对排放可能产生的安全和健康问题表示关切。她9月6日在东京参加了一次抗议活动，敦促政府花钱制定方法，适当地清除核污水中放射性物质，这样就不必将其排放到海洋中。

"Discussions in the Japanese media about alternative solutions for Fukushima's contaminated water are not enough. The government should thoroughly explore various solutions together with all stakeholders, including local fishermen," she said.

她说：“日本媒体关于福岛核污水的替代解决方案的讨论还不够。政府应该与包括当地渔民在内的所有利益攸关方一起深入探索各种解决方案。”

Since Japan announced plans to release the toxic water over two years ago, the legitimacy, legality, and safety of the plan have been continuously questioned by the international community.

自两年前日本宣布计划排放核污水以来，该计划的正当性、合法性和安全性一直受到国际社会的质疑。

Managing public perception

管理公众认知

Japan needs to manage public perception to address major concerns about the long-term reliability of the filtration system that is expected to remove multiple radionuclides from the water, the accuracy of data related to the contaminated water, and the effectiveness of ocean-discharge monitoring arrangements, said Chen Xiang, an associate research fellow with the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

中国社会科学院日本研究所副研究员陈祥说，日本需要管理公众认知，以解决人们对过滤系统的长期可靠性、污水相关数据的准确性以及海洋排放监测安排的有效性等重大关切。

"Japan is aware that with the release of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, there is a likelihood of unpredictable ecological damage and harm to human health, necessitating proactive public relations efforts to address these issues in advance. Therefore, the public relations expenditure is aimed at salvaging Japan's national image to prevent a collapse of reputation," Chen said.

陈祥说：“日本意识到，核污水排海有可能对生态造成不可预测的损害并对危害人类健康，因此需要积极主动进行攻关来提前解决这些问题。因此，公关支出旨在挽救日本的国家形象，防止声誉崩溃。”

Zhang Yulai, vice-president of the Japan Institute of Nankai University, said: "The Japanese government is allocating a significant amount of funding toward public relations instead of addressing the issue. This misplaced prioritization suggests a lack of confidence in its ocean discharge plan, as the Japanese government could have been more transparent by sharing information more extensively and inviting relevant organizations for full-process monitoring."

南开大学日本研究院副院长张玉来说：“日本政府正拨出大量资金用于公关，而非解决这一问题。这种错位的优先次序表明其对排海计划缺乏信心，因为日本政府本可以通过更广泛地分享信息和邀请相关组织进行全程监测来使排海过程更加透明。”

Li Ruoyu, a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Japanese and Korean Studies at Sichuan Normal University, said Japan can hardly achieve the goal of enhancing the tolerance of ocean discharge globally with the 70.1-billion-yen budget because the international community, which has access to various information, will raise questions about why the Japanese government insisted on ocean discharge rather than adopting alternative solutions.

四川师范大学日韩研究所客座研究员李若愚说，日本用701万亿日元的预算很难实现在全球范围内提高排海容忍度的目标，因为国际社会可以获得各种信息，他们会提出关于日本政府为什么坚持排海而不是采取替代解决方案的问题。

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v.挽救