Japanese Prime Minister Suga meets with US President Biden on Friday, and various media reports make it sound like the official comments about the PRC may be softer than the US wants. Has PM Suga taken PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s warnings last week to heart? From the April 6 newsletter on the warnings:

PRC officials sound very worried about the direction of the US-Japan relationship. President Biden and Prime Minister Suga meet in Washington DC next week, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has effectively warned Japan to behave. While the Senkakus/Diaoyu Islands dispute is always in issue, Japanese officials have sounded particularly worried about Taiwan.

The release of radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear disaster would be controversial at any time, but it does seem like the PRC is really ramping up the criticism. Might one of the goals, beyond the apparent concern now about keeping the Pacific Ocean pristine, be to have set up an issue with which to pound Japan, say with boy…