Russia is needling Japan with newfound skepticism of Tokyo’s plan to discharge treated water from Fukushima nuclear power station, a nuclear waste management issue that has acquired geopolitical connotations in recent years.

“Taking into account the possible risks of radiation contamination of products, Rosselkhoznadzor is considering the possibility of joining with Chinese restrictions on supplies of fish products from Japan,” Russian food safety agency Rosselkhoznadzor said this week. “The final decision will be made after negotiations with the Japanese side.”

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Russia’s relationship with Japan has soured in recent years, particularly in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has hardened diplomatic divides and set a precedent that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida fears will be followed by China or North Korea. In that context, Kishida’s plan for the disposal of treated water — contaminated in the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster — has emerged as a public relations vulnerability that China and Russia seem keen to exploit, to the Japanese government’s frustration.

“With regard to the safety of the discharge of treated water … we have provided explanations and communications [in] a repeated manner,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters Wednesday, according to a live interpreter. “To Russia, we demand [for] them to be very scientific in their approach.”

Japanese nuclear officials are gradually pumping the 1.3 million tons of water contaminated as a result of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. They are doing so only after "filtering the contaminated water to remove isotopes, leaving only tritium ... [which] is considered to be relatively harmless because its radiation is not energetic enough to penetrate human skin,” as Reuters explained. The filtration process and discharge plan were validated by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog.

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“Based on its comprehensive assessment, the IAEA has concluded that the approach and activities to the discharge of ALPS treated water taken by Japan are consistent with relevant international safety standards,” IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said in July. “The controlled, gradual discharges of the treated water to the sea ... would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.”

Matsuno invoked that review on Wednesday. “Russia’s international experts participated in the IAEA review,” he said. “The facility’s safety for the discharge as well as the IAEA contents have been explained by the Japan side on every level and taking every opportunity we are trying to provide transparent information to the concerned parties.”