Japan Says China Agrees to Terms for Seafood Import Resumption After Fukushima Wastewater Row

Udumbara Udumbara
May 31, 2025 - 09:58 Updated: May 30, 2025 - 22:29
0
Japan Says China Agrees to Terms for Seafood Import Resumption After Fukushima Wastewater Row

Japan said on Friday that China has agreed to procedures for allowing Japanese seafood imports, which Beijing had banned since August 2023 due to the release of treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea.

The two nations have reached an agreement on the technical terms for resuming Japanese seafood imports into China, chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told cabinet members, local media reported.

Hayashi said that Japan expects to resume seafood exports to China once the registration process for exporting facilities is completed, which will require inspection and sanitation certification.

“This agreement marks a major milestone,” Hayashi told reporters after the cabinet meeting, according to local reports. He did not provide a specific timeline for when seafood imports would resume.

Hayashi said the agreement does not cover China’s ban on agricultural and fishery products from 10 Japanese prefectures, but added that Japan’s government will continue working to have the ban lifted.

The agreement was reached after a May 28 meeting between Japanese and Chinese officials in Beijing. China’s General Administration of Customs said the two sides made “substantial progress” in their talks related to Japanese seafood imports but did not elaborate further.

In August 2023, China imposed a blanket ban on all Japanese aquatic products after Japan began releasing treated radioactive water into the sea, citing food safety concerns.
Japan denounced the move, arguing that its standard for the release of tritium, which is less than 22 trillion becquerels per year, is lower than the levels released by China’s nuclear reactors.
In September last year, China said it was considering lifting the ban following an agreement under which Japan would expand its long-term international monitoring measures under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) framework and allow all stakeholder countries to conduct independent sampling and inter-laboratory comparisons.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at the time that China would consider gradually resuming Japanese seafood imports after holding technical consultations with Japan and once “China’s demands are fully addressed.”

The Fukushima Daiichi plant was destroyed in March 2011 after a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake generated powerful tsunami waves, causing meltdowns in three reactors. Japan began releasing treated radioactive water from the Fukushima power plant in August 2023 after receiving approval from the IAEA.
The IAEA said in a July 2023 report that Japan’s procedures were safe and in line with internationally accepted nuclear safety standards. It concluded that the gradual discharge of wastewater from the plant would have a “negligible radiological impact” on people and the environment.
.
The Associated Press and Dorothy Li contributed to this report.
 
.

Read More