Posts falsely claim Japanese schools in China 'ordered to shut' after Fukushima water release

This article is more than one year old.
Published on October 19, 2023 at 10:50
Updated on October 20, 2023 at 07:33
2 min read
By Tommy WANG, AFP Hong Kong

Following Japan's decision to release treated wastewater from its stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in late August 2023, Chinese social media posts viewed tens of thousands of times shared a false claim that China had "ordered all 137 Japanese schools in the country to close". A spokesperson for the Japanese embassy in China told AFP the claim was false, while Japan's education department said they were not notified of such closure. Official records also show there are only 11 Japanese-run schools in mainland China and three in Hong Kong.

"China finally ordered the staged demolition of all 137 Japanese schools in China," a narrator can be heard saying in Mandarin in a video posted to Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, on September 19, 2023.

"The demolition would be conducted in stages and regions, from Dalian, Suzhou and Shanghai and other cities."

The clip also features simplified Chinese text making the same claim superimposed on an unrelated footage that shows Shenzhen's tallest skyscraper (archived link).

Screenshot of false post, taken on October 17, 2023

The claim surfaced after Japan began releasing more than 500 Olympic swimming pools' worth of treated water from its stricken Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant in late August, triggering backlash from neighbouring China despite reassurances from the United Nations' nuclear watchdog that the discharge was safe.

Public hostility in China towards Japan has flared up after the release began, with bricks and eggs thrown at Japanese schools and consulates. Businesses in Japan have also been inundated with nuisance calls from Chinese numbers.

Posts sharing a similar claim have also circulated on X -- formerly Twitter -- WeChat, Douyin, and Chinese video-sharing platforms Bilibili and Xigua Shipin.

'No such fact'

However, an official of the Embassy of Japan in China told AFP on October 13, 2023 there was "no such fact" that the Chinese government ordered Japanese schools to shut down "for whatever reason".

According to a list published on January 16 on the embassy's website, there are 11 Japanese-run schools in mainland China and three in Hong Kong, not 137 as claimed in the false video (archived link).

"We have no idea where the number online (137) came from," the spokesperson went on to say.

A spokesperson for Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology also told AFP on October 4, 2023 that it has not received any notice from Beijing ordering the closure of Japanese schools in China (archived link).

As of October 18, 2023, AFP has not found credible reports that China was ordering the closure of Japanese schools.

At least eight of the schools have also continued to update their official websites, which indicate signs of normal operation.

These include a recruitment notice from the Japanese School of Beijing and school activities notices from the Qingdao Japanese School (archived links here and here).

AFP has debunked a wave of misinformation about the release of wastewater from Fukushima, including here, here, here, here, here and here.

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

E-mail