Japan will formally protest about a cartoon in a French satirical weekly of sumo wrestlers with extra limbs at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.
The caption says: “Thanks to Fukushima, sumo is now an Olympic sport”, a reference to Tokyo’s successful bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games.
Japan overcame concerns about the plant, which was crippled by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, to win the bid.
A Japanese official said the cartoon gave the wrong impression about Japan.
The sketch in Le Canard Enchaine showed a commentator in a nuclear protection suit standing in front of two multi-limbed and emaciated sumo wrestlers facing off against the backdrop of the plant
The French weekly also published a picture of two people wearing nuclear protection suits holding a Geiger counter in front of a pool of water and saying that water sport facilities had already been built at Fukushima.
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Tokyo has insisted that it can resolve the many issues faced by the plant and has also pledged funding to build a frozen wall around reactor buildings to contain the leaks.
During the Olympic bid process Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assured the International Olympic Committee that the situation was “under control”.
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