China agrees to begin steps to resume Japanese seafood imports: Tokyo

Kyodo News

2 days ago

KYODO NEWS - 14 hours ago - 18:58 | World, All, Japan
Japan's government said Friday that China has agreed to begin procedures to resume imports of Japanese seafood, lifting a ban imposed after the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.
Chinese authorities are expected to issue a public notice easing the blanket ban that has been in place since August 2023 and soon open registration for Japanese facilities that process and preserve marine products, sources familiar with the matter said.
The two nations have agreed on "technical requirements for the resumption of seafood exports" to China, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a meeting of related ministers, part of which was open to the media.
Chinese customs authorities said "substantial progress" had been made in technical talks with Japan on the seafood imports, held in Beijing on Wednesday, but did not provide details regarding the outcome.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a press conference that Japan promised to take "credible and visible measures to guarantee the quality and safety" of aquatic products.
Beijing will study Tokyo's request to resume the export of Japanese seafood items to China in accordance with the principles of science and safety, relevant domestic laws and regulations and international trade rules, he added.
The move apparently reflects China's willingness to improve its ties with Japan amid a trade war with the United States.
Meanwhile, Japan will continue to seek the removal of remaining Chinese restrictions on food imports from 10 Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima, which were imposed after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the nuclear disaster, Hayashi added.
China's ban on Japanese seafood has been a major source of tension between the two Asian neighbors, who remain at odds over issues including territorial disputes and Beijing's military activities, mainly in the East China Sea.
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya described the latest move as "very pleasant" at a press conference, hinting that it could "mark the beginning" of efforts to bring about solutions to other bilateral issues.
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who assumed his post on May 21, separately said that the restart of seafood exports from 37 prefectures to China would be "a significant milestone."
It may take a few months for shipments of Japanese seafood to China to begin, as the registration process must be completed and the products must pass radiation checks, the sources said.
Japanese fishermen and businesses welcomed the announcement. Masanobu Sakamoto, chief of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, said in a statement that the agreement was "a major advance."
However, he also urged the government to move forward with "the expansion of smooth exports from all over Japan as early as possible," given China's ongoing embargo on imports from the 10 prefectures not subject to the latest accord.
Japanese and Chinese officials held the technical talks earlier this week to reach the agreement, which only covers businesses that were allowed to export products to China before the start of the wastewater discharge in August 2023, according to the Japanese government.
In September last year, the two governments agreed to gradually resume seafood trade on the condition that third-party countries monitor the water release from the nuclear plant.
China had strongly opposed the discharge and described the wastewater as "nuclear-contaminated," citing potential risks to human health and the environment.
Following the agreement, China collected marine samples near the Fukushima plant under the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency and did not find abnormal concentrations of radioactive substances.
The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China hailed the accord as a first step toward the full removal of Beijing's restrictions on Japanese food imports. It also expressed hope that lifting the seafood import ban would help "eliminate reputational damage" to products such as Japanese cosmetics in China.
After Beijing imposed the total ban, many Chinese consumers shunned Japanese cosmetics, associating them with fears of radiation contamination.
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