{"id":12820,"date":"2023-07-28T06:30:38","date_gmt":"2023-07-28T06:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=12820"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:08:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:08:00","slug":"why-are-chinese-consumers-suddenly-boycotting-japanese-goods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/why-are-chinese-consumers-suddenly-boycotting-japanese-goods\/","title":{"rendered":"Why are Chinese consumers suddenly boycotting Japanese goods?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The planned release of nuclear wastewater in Japan offers some surprising lessons in crisis communications for international brands in China, writes Qing Na<\/strong> from Dao Insights<\/strong><\/h2>\n

With more than one million cubic metres of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant due to be released into the sea having been given the greenlight by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a mix of anger and fear is spreading across Japan and beyond, including in China.<\/p>\n

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China became the largest importer of Japanese food in 2022, clocking a total import value of RMB 11.45 billion (\u00a31.24 billion), a 35.2% year-on-year increase, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan. Japan is also the second-largest supplier of beauty products to China, exporting approximately RMB 28.62 billion (\u00a33.10 billion) of relevant items between January and November 2022, according to statistics revealed by China\u2019s General Administration of Customs. This accounted for 24.77% of China\u2019s total import of cosmetics, second only to France (24.98%).<\/p>\n

But now, products originating in Japan have become red flags to Chinese consumers amid the nuclear scare. As pre-discharge tests were held in June (the actual discharge of the nuclear wastewater is expected to begin this August), boycotts of Japanese products kicked off in China\u2019s digital spaces. Internet users compiled lists of brands, most of which are beauty and skincare brands that are produced in Japan, which have been widely circulated on Chinese social media, propelling relevant hashtags to garner over 300 million views on Weibo and another one million on the lifestyle-sharing platform Xiaohongshu<\/a>.<\/p>\n