China to resume Japanese seafood imports after Fukushima water row
Japan has announced that China will lift its ban on Japanese seafood imports.
The ban was imposed in 2023 due to concerns over the discharge of wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean.
Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said that the agreement was reached during a meeting between Japanese and Chinese officials in Beijing.
The resumption of imports is contingent upon the completion of required paperwork.
As of now, there has been no immediate statement from China regarding this development.
The step is based on an agreement between the two nations that Beijing was to take steps toward ending the ban by joining water sampling missions as part of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The Fukushima Daiichi plant was damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, triggering meltdowns in its three reactors and causing large amounts of radioactive water to accumulate.
The wastewater was treated and heavily diluted to reduce the radioactivity as much as possible before Japan began discharging the wastewater in August 2023.
Japan says the discharge has met international safety standards and data from the IAEA monitoring are publicly available.
China blocked imports of Japanese seafood because it said the release would endanger the fishing industry and coastal communities in eastern China.
Earlier this week, Japan announced plans to use slightly radioactive soil, stored near the nuclear plant, for flower beds outside Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's office.
The move is intended to demonstrate the safety of reusing soil that was removed from Fukushima prefecture during decontamination efforts. Officials say that some of the soil has now reached levels deemed safe for reuse.
The government aims to reassure the public by using the soil at Mr Ishiba's office in Tokyo, with plans to extend its use to flower beds and other purposes within government agency grounds.
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Sky News
38 minutes ago
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British man indicted over plot to smuggle US military technology to China
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE British father 'caught spying for China' in FBI sting: Businessman, 63, who referred to Chinese leader Xi Jingping as 'the Boss' and 'attempted to smuggle arms into Beijing' facing 40 years in US jail
A British businessman has been sensationally accused of spying for China and plotting to smuggle sensitive military technology to Beijing. John Miller, 63, was arrested on the orders of the FBI following a sting operation and is now awaiting extradition to the United States. Court documents seen by The Mail on Sunday show that Mr Miller referred to Chinese leader Xi Jinping as 'The Boss' in intercepted phone calls. The FBI said this demonstrated his 'awareness that he was acting at the direction and control of the [Chinese] government'. Last night, neighbours at the businessman's five-bedroom £1.5 million home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, expressed bemusement at the news and called him a 'respectable family man'. His wife volunteers at her local church, and the couple's daughter attended a leading public school. One said: 'They are the perfect family to have as neighbours.' 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TEFL usually stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Last night, the Foreign Office said: 'We are providing consular assistance to a British national following his arrest in Serbia in April and are in touch with the local authorities and his family.'
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Spike in steel tariffs could imperil Trump promise of lower grocery prices
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